1951 in music
Encyclopedia
Events
- January 29 – Nilla PizziNilla PizziNilla Pizzi was an Italian singer.Born as Adionilla Negrini Pizzi in Sant'Agata Bolognese, she was particularly famous in Italy during the 1950s and 1960s. She won the first edition of the San Remo Festival in 1951, singing "Grazie dei fiori", and she won also the second edition , singing "Vola...
wins the first annual Sanremo Music FestivalFestival della canzone italianaThe Festival della canzone italiana di Sanremo is a popular Italian song contest, held annually in the city of Sanremo, in Italy, and consisting of a competition amongst previously unreleased songs...
with "Grazie dei fiori". - February – The first complete performance of Charles IvesCharles IvesCharles Edward Ives was an American modernist composer. He is one of the first American composers of international renown, though Ives' music was largely ignored during his life, and many of his works went unperformed for many years. Over time, Ives came to be regarded as an "American Original"...
's Second Symphony is given in Carnegie HallCarnegie HallCarnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
by the New York Philharmonic-Symphony OrchestraNew York PhilharmonicThe New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...
, conducted by Leonard BernsteinLeonard BernsteinLeonard Bernstein August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim...
. - March – Alan HovhanessAlan HovhanessAlan Hovhaness was an Armenian-American composer.His music is accessible to the lay listener and often evokes a mood of mystery or contemplation...
conducts the world premiere of his Saint Vartan Symphony at Carnegie Hall in New York. - April 18 – An article entitled "The Fight Against Formalism in Art and Literature, for a Progressive German Culture" appeared in the Tägliche Rundschau, official daily of the Soviet Government in Germany, promulgating the new cultural policy of the DDR.
- May 9 – May 26 – The Queen Elisabeth Competition for violin is held (for the first time under that name) in BrusselsBrusselsBrussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, Belgium. Leonid Kogan is awarded first prize. - June 9 – Joseph HaydnJoseph HaydnFranz Joseph Haydn , known as Joseph Haydn , was an Austrian composer, one of the most prolific and prominent composers of the Classical period. He is often called the "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet" because of his important contributions to these forms...
's opera Orpheus and EurydiceL'anima del filosofoL'anima del filosofo, ossia Orfeo ed Euridice , Hob. 28/13, is an opera in Italian in four acts by Joseph Haydn, the last he ever wrote. The libretto, by Carlo Francesco Badini, is based on the myth of Orpheus and Euridice as told in Ovid's Metamorphoses...
given its world premiere at the Maggio Musicale FiorentinoMaggio Musicale FiorentinoMaggio Musicale Fiorentino is an annual opera festival which was founded in April 1933 by conductor Vittorio Gui with the aim of presenting contemporary and forgotten operas in visually dramatic productions. It was the first music festival in Italy. The first opera presented was Verdi's early...
. - June 14 - Bill Haley and His Saddlemen record their version of "Rocket 88Rocket 88"Rocket 88" is a rhythm and blues song that was first recorded at Sam Phillips' recording studio in Memphis, Tennessee, on 3 March or 5 March 1951...
", combining the rhythm and bluesRhythm and bluesRhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
arrangement of the original version (by Jackie Brentson and the Delta Cats) with country musicCountry musicCountry music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
trappings, considered by many music historians to be the first true rock and roll record. - June 22 – July 10 – Darmstädter Internationale Ferienkurse held in DarmstadtDarmstadtDarmstadt is a city in the Bundesland of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Rhine Main Area.The sandy soils in the Darmstadt area, ill-suited for agriculture in times before industrial fertilisation, prevented any larger settlement from developing, until the city became the seat...
. - July 2 – July 14 – The seventh annual Cheltenham Music FestivalCheltenham Music FestivalThe Cheltenham Music Festival is one of the oldest music festivals in Britain, held annually in Cheltenham in June/July since 1945. The festival is renowned for premieres of contemporary music, hosting over 250 music premieres as of July 2004....
is held in CheltenhamCheltenhamCheltenham , also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a large spa town and borough in Gloucestershire, on the edge of the Cotswolds in the South-West region of England. It is the home of the flagship race of British steeplechase horse racing, the Gold Cup, the main event of the Cheltenham Festival held...
, England, with a performance of Brian EasdaleBrian EasdaleBrian Easdale was a British composer.Easdale was born in Manchester, England. He was educated at Westminster Abbey School and the Royal College of Music....
's opera, The Sleeping Children, premieres of the first symphonies of Malcolm ArnoldMalcolm ArnoldSir Malcolm Henry Arnold, CBE was an English composer and symphonist.Malcolm Arnold began his career playing trumpet professionally, but by age thirty his life was devoted to composition. He was ranked with Benjamin Britten as one of the most sought-after composers in Britain...
, John GardnerJohn Gardner (composer)John Linton Gardner, CBE is an English composer of classical music.-Biography:Gardner was born in Manchester, England and brought up in Ilfracombe, North Devon. His father Alfred Linton Gardner was a local GP and amateur composer who was killed in action in the last months of the First World War....
, and Arnold van Wyk, Franz ReizensteinFranz ReizensteinFranz Theodor Reizenstein was a German-born British composer and concert pianist. He left Germany for sanctuary in Britain in 1934 and went on to have his career there, including teaching at the Royal Northern College of Music and Boston University, as well as performing.-Life and work:Franz...
's Serenade for Winds, and Maurice Jacobson's Symphonic Suite, as well as performances of works by Humphrey SearleHumphrey SearleHumphrey Searle was a British composer.-Biography:He was born in Oxford where he was a classics scholar before studying — somewhat hesitantly — with John Ireland at the Royal College of Music in London, after which he went to Vienna on a six month scholarship to become a private pupil of Anton...
, Robert MastersRobert MastersRobert Masters was a New Zealand politician of the Liberal Party, and a cabinet minister.He was Minister of Education in the Liberal-Reform coalition Government of New Zealand from 1931 to 1934 as a member of the New Zealand Legislative Council, after being a Minister without Portfolio from 1930...
, Benjamin FrankelBenjamin FrankelBenjamin Frankel was a British composer. Frankel's most famous pieces include a cycle of five string quartets and eight symphonies as well as a number of concertos for violin and viola; his single best-known piece is probably the First Sonata for Solo Violin, which, like his concertos, resulted...
, and Philip SaintonPhilip SaintonPhilip Prosper Sainton was a British–French composer, conductor, and violist.-Biography:He was born in Arques-la-Bataille, in Seine-Maritime, France, grandson to violinist Prosper Sainton and contralto Charlotte Helen Sainton-Dolby. He started his music studies learning the violin...
. - July 11 – Disc jockey and music promoter Alan FreedAlan FreedAlbert James "Alan" Freed , also known as Moondog, was an American disc-jockey. He became internationally known for promoting the mix of blues, country and rhythm and blues music on the radio in the United States and Europe under the name of rock and roll...
broadcasts his first Rhythm and bluesRhythm and bluesRhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
radio programme from station WJW in Cleveland, OhioCleveland, OhioCleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
. Freed uses the term rock and rollRock and rollRock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
to describe R&B, in an effort to introduce the music to a broader white audience. - July 14 – July 21 – The Haslemere Music Festival, consisting of six concerts of early musicEarly musicEarly music is generally understood as comprising all music from the earliest times up to the Renaissance. However, today this term has come to include "any music for which a historically appropriate style of performance must be reconstructed on the basis of surviving scores, treatises,...
, takes place in HaslemereHaslemereHaslemere is a town in Surrey, England, close to the border with both Hampshire and West Sussex. The major road between London and Portsmouth, the A3, lies to the west, and a branch of the River Wey to the south. Haslemere is approximately south-west of Guildford.Haslemere is surrounded by hills,...
, England. - July 29 – The annual Bayreuth FestivalBayreuth FestivalThe Bayreuth Festival is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of operas by the 19th century German composer Richard Wagner are presented...
resumes for the first time since the Second World WarWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, now under the general direction of Wieland WagnerWieland WagnerWieland Wagner was a German opera director.- Life :Wieland was the elder of two sons of Siegfried and Winifred Wagner and grandson of composer Richard Wagner....
, with an opening concert of Beethoven'sLudwig van BeethovenLudwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
Ninth SymphonySymphony No. 9 (Beethoven)The Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125, is the final complete symphony of Ludwig van Beethoven. Completed in 1824, the symphony is one of the best known works of the Western classical repertoire, and has been adapted for use as the European Anthem...
conducted by Wilhelm FurtwänglerWilhelm FurtwänglerWilhelm Furtwängler was a German conductor and composer. He is widely considered to have been one of the greatest symphonic and operatic conductors of the 20th century. By the 1930s he had built a reputation as one of the leading conductors in Europe, and he was the leading conductor who remained...
, followed by productions of Der Ring des NibelungenDer Ring des NibelungenDer Ring des Nibelungen is a cycle of four epic operas by the German composer Richard Wagner . The works are based loosely on characters from the Norse sagas and the Nibelungenlied...
, ParsifalParsifalParsifal is an opera in three acts by Richard Wagner. It is loosely based on Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival, the 13th century epic poem of the Arthurian knight Parzival and his quest for the Holy Grail, and on Chrétien de Troyes' Perceval, the Story of the Grail.Wagner first conceived the work...
, and Die MeistersingerDie Meistersinger von NürnbergDie Meistersinger von Nürnberg is an opera in three acts, written and composed by Richard Wagner. It is among the longest operas still commonly performed today, usually taking around four and a half hours. It was first performed at the Königliches Hof- und National-Theater in Munich, on June 21,...
. - August – The annual Salzburg FestivalSalzburg FestivalThe Salzburg Festival is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer within the Austrian town of Salzburg, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart...
takes place in SalzburgSalzburg-Population development:In 1935, the population significantly increased when Salzburg absorbed adjacent municipalities. After World War II, numerous refugees found a new home in the city. New residential space was created for American soldiers of the postwar Occupation, and could be used for...
, Austria, featuring four opera productions from the Vienna State OperaVienna State OperaThe Vienna State Opera is an opera house – and opera company – with a history dating back to the mid-19th century. It is located in the centre of Vienna, Austria. It was originally called the Vienna Court Opera . In 1920, with the replacement of the Habsburg Monarchy by the First Austrian...
: Mozart'sWolfgang Amadeus MozartWolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
IdomeneoIdomeneoIdomeneo, re di Creta ossia Ilia e Idamante is an Italian language opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The libretto was adapted by Giambattista Varesco from a French text by Antoine Danchet, which had been set to music by André Campra as Idoménée in 1712...
and Die Zauberflöte, and Verdi'sGiuseppe VerdiGiuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century...
OtelloOtelloOtello is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on Shakespeare's play Othello. It was Verdi's penultimate opera, and was first performed at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, on February 5, 1887....
, all conducted by Wilhelm FurtwänglerWilhelm FurtwänglerWilhelm Furtwängler was a German conductor and composer. He is widely considered to have been one of the greatest symphonic and operatic conductors of the 20th century. By the 1930s he had built a reputation as one of the leading conductors in Europe, and he was the leading conductor who remained...
, and Berg'sAlban BergAlban Maria Johannes Berg was an Austrian composer. He was a member of the Second Viennese School with Arnold Schoenberg and Anton Webern, and produced compositions that combined Mahlerian Romanticism with a personal adaptation of Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique.-Early life:Berg was born in...
WozzeckWozzeckWozzeck is the first opera by the Austrian composer Alban Berg. It was composed between 1914 and 1922 and first performed in 1925. The opera is based on the drama Woyzeck left incomplete by the German playwright Georg Büchner at his death. Berg attended the first production in Vienna of Büchner's...
, conducted by Karl BöhmKarl BöhmKarl August Leopold Böhm was an Austrian conductor. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest symphonic and operatic conductors of the 20th century.- Education :...
, as well as seven orchestral concerts by the Vienna Philharmonic OrchestraVienna Philharmonic OrchestraThe Vienna Philharmonic is an orchestra in Austria, regularly considered one of the finest in the world....
(two conducted by Wilhelm FurtwänglerWilhelm FurtwänglerWilhelm Furtwängler was a German conductor and composer. He is widely considered to have been one of the greatest symphonic and operatic conductors of the 20th century. By the 1930s he had built a reputation as one of the leading conductors in Europe, and he was the leading conductor who remained...
and one each by Edwin FischerEdwin FischerEdwin Fischer was a Swiss classical pianist and conductor. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest pianists of the 20th century, particularly in the traditional Germanic repertoire of such composers as J. S. Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert...
, Rafael KubelíkRafael KubelíkRafael Jeroným Kubelík was a Czech conductor and composer.-Early life:Kubelík was born in Býchory, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary, today's Czech Republic. He was the sixth child of the Bohemian violinist Jan Kubelík, whom the younger Kubelík described as "a kind of god to me." His mother was a Hungarian...
, Eugen JochumEugen JochumEugen Jochum was an eminent German conductor.Born in Babenhausen, near Augsburg, Germany, Jochum studied the piano and organ in Augsburg until 1922. He then studied conducting in Munich...
, Karl BöhmKarl BöhmKarl August Leopold Böhm was an Austrian conductor. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest symphonic and operatic conductors of the 20th century.- Education :...
, and Leopold StokowskiLeopold StokowskiLeopold Anthony Stokowski was a British-born, naturalised American orchestral conductor, well known for his free-hand performing style that spurned the traditional baton and for obtaining a characteristically sumptuous sound from many of the great orchestras he conducted.In America, Stokowski...
), six choral concerts, four chamber-music concerts, three solo recitals, and a number of smaller events. - September 5 – Opening of the month-long Berlin Festival of the Arts, with a performance in the New Schillertheater of Beethoven'sLudwig van BeethovenLudwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
Ninth SymphonySymphony No. 9 (Beethoven)The Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125, is the final complete symphony of Ludwig van Beethoven. Completed in 1824, the symphony is one of the best known works of the Western classical repertoire, and has been adapted for use as the European Anthem...
by the Berlin Philharmonic, conducted by Wilhelm FurtwänglerWilhelm FurtwänglerWilhelm Furtwängler was a German conductor and composer. He is widely considered to have been one of the greatest symphonic and operatic conductors of the 20th century. By the 1930s he had built a reputation as one of the leading conductors in Europe, and he was the leading conductor who remained...
. Subsequent musical events included performances of Gian Carlo MenottiGian Carlo MenottiGian Carlo Menotti was an Italian-American composer and librettist. Although he often referred to himself as an American composer, he kept his Italian citizenship. He wrote the classic Christmas opera, Amahl and the Night Visitors, among about two dozen other operas intended to appeal to popular...
's The ConsulThe ConsulThe Consul is an opera in three acts with music and libretto by Gian Carlo Menotti, his first full-length opera. Its first performance was on March 1, 1950, at the Shubert Theatre in Philadelphia with Patricia Neway as the lead heroine Magda Sorel, Gloria Lane as the secretary of the consulate,...
, Benjamin BrittenBenjamin BrittenEdward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He showed talent from an early age, and first came to public attention with the a cappella choral work A Boy Was Born in 1934. With the premiere of his opera Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to...
's Let's Make an Opera, and the first German performance of Oklahoma!Oklahoma!Oklahoma! is the first musical written by composer Richard Rodgers and librettist Oscar Hammerstein II. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs' 1931 play, Green Grow the Lilacs. Set in Oklahoma Territory outside the town of Claremore in 1906, it tells the story of cowboy Curly McLain and his romance...
. - September 11 – The Rake's ProgressThe Rake's ProgressThe Rake's Progress is an opera in three acts and an epilogue by Igor Stravinsky. The libretto, written by W. H. Auden and Chester Kallman, is based loosely on the eight paintings and engravings A Rake's Progress of William Hogarth, which Stravinsky had seen on May 2, 1947, in a Chicago...
, an opera by Igor StravinskyIgor StravinskyIgor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ; 6 April 1971) was a Russian, later naturalized French, and then naturalized American composer, pianist, and conductor....
with libretto by W. H. AudenW. H. AudenWystan Hugh Auden , who published as W. H. Auden, was an Anglo-American poet,The first definition of "Anglo-American" in the OED is: "Of, belonging to, or involving both England and America." See also the definition "English in origin or birth, American by settlement or citizenship" in See also...
and Chester KallmanChester KallmanChester Simon Kallman was an American poet, librettist, and translator, best known for his collaborations with W. H. Auden and Igor Stravinsky.-Life:...
, premieres in VeniceVeniceVenice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
, conducted by the composer. - September 17 – September 22 – The fourth annual Swansea Festival of Music and the ArtsSwansea Festival of Music and the ArtsThe Swansea Festival of Music and the Arts is an annual arts festival that takes place in Swansea, Wales.The 2008 festival was its 60th anniversary.-References:*...
opens in SwanseaSwanseaSwansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
, WalesWalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, with a controversial speech by one of Wales's leading composers, Daniel JonesDaniel Jones (composer)Daniel Jenkyn Jones OBE was a composer of classical music, who worked in Britain. He used both serial and tonal techniques...
. The festival was the final component in the Festival of BritainFestival of BritainThe Festival of Britain was a national exhibition in Britain in the summer of 1951. It was organised by the government to give Britons a feeling of recovery in the aftermath of war and to promote good quality design in the rebuilding of British towns and cities. The Festival's centrepiece was in...
and consisted of seven programmes, featuring Welsh composer Arwel HughesArwel HughesArwel Hughes OBE , was a Welsh orchestral conductor and composer.Hughes was born in Rhosllannerchrugog near Wrexham and was educated at Ruabon Grammar School and at the Royal College of Music, where he studied with Ralph Vaughan Williams and C. H. Kitson...
's new oratorio St. David and appearances by Victoria de los ÁngelesVictoria de los ÁngelesVictoria de los Ángeles was a Spanish Catalan operatic soprano and recitalist whose career began in the early 1940s and reached its height in the years from the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s. Her obituary in The Times noted that she must be counted “among the finest singers of the second half...
, Zino FrancescattiZino FrancescattiRené-Charles "Zino" Francescatti was a French virtuoso violinist.Zino Francescatti was born in Marseilles, to a musical family. Both parents were violinists. His father, who also played the cello, had studied with Camillo Sivori. Zino studied violin from age three and was quickly recognized as a...
, André NavarraAndré NavarraAndré-Nicolas Navarra was a French cellist and cello teacher.-Early life:...
, Walter SusskindWalter SusskindJan Walter Susskind was a Czech-born British conductor.-Biography:Susskind was born in Prague, Austria–Hungary, now the Czech Republic. His father was a Viennese music critic and his Czech mother was a piano teacher. At the State Conservatorium he studied under composer Josef Suk, the son-in-law...
, and Jean MartinonJean MartinonJean Martinon was a French conductor and composer.-Biography:Martinon was born in Lyon, where he began his education, going on to the Conservatoire de Paris to study under Albert Roussel for composition, under Charles Munch and Roger Désormière for conducting, under Vincent d'Indy for harmony,...
. - October 6 – October 7 – The Donaueschinger MusiktageDonaueschingen FestivalThe Donaueschingen Festival is a festival for new music that takes place every October in the small town of Donaueschingen...
features the world premieres of Ernst KrenekErnst KrenekErnst Krenek was an Austrian of Czech origin and, from 1945, American composer. He explored atonality and other modern styles and wrote a number of books, including Music Here and Now , a study of Johannes Ockeghem , and Horizons Circled: Reflections on my Music...
's Double Concerto for viola, piano, and small orchestra, Rolf LiebermannRolf LiebermannRolf Liebermann , was a Swiss composer and music administrator born in Zurich, and associated with several different musical genres. His output included chansons, classical, and light music. His classical music often combines myriad styles and techniques, including those drawn from baroque,...
's Piano Sonata, Pierre BoulezPierre BoulezPierre Boulez is a French composer of contemporary classical music, a pianist, and a conductor.-Early years:Boulez was born in Montbrison, Loire, France. As a child he began piano lessons and demonstrated aptitude in both music and mathematics...
's, Polyphonie X for 18 solo instruments, Hermann Reutter's, Der himmlische Vagant, lyrische Portrait des F. Villon von Klabund for alto and baritone voices and instrumental ensemble, and Marcel MihaloviciMarcel MihaloviciMarcel Mihalovici was a French composer born in Romania. He was discovered by George Enescu in Bucharest. He moved to Paris in 1919 to study under Vincent d'Indy...
's Étude en deux parties for piano and ensemble, as well as German first performances of works by MessiaenOlivier MessiaenOlivier Messiaen was a French composer, organist and ornithologist, one of the major composers of the 20th century. His music is rhythmically complex ; harmonically and melodically it is based on modes of limited transposition, which he abstracted from his early compositions and improvisations...
, Guido TurchiGuido TurchiGuido Turchi was an Italian composer and writer on music.Guido Turchi was born in Rome, where he later studied at the Conservatorio di Musica Santa Cecilia with Cesare Dobici, A. Ferdinandi, and Alessandro Bustini, and was awarded diplomas in piano and composition in 1940...
, HarsányiTibor HarsanyiTibor Harsányi was a Hungarian-born composer and pianist.He studied at the Budapest Conservatory under Zoltán Kodály. He toured as a pianist around Europe and the Pacific, then settled in Holland in 1920, and worked there as a pianist, conductor and composer before relocating to Paris in 1923...
, JelinekHanns JelinekHanns Jelinek was an Austrian composer of Czech descent who is also known under the pseudonym Hanns Elin....
, and HoneggerArthur HoneggerArthur Honegger was a Swiss composer, who was born in France and lived a large part of his life in Paris. He was a member of Les six. His most frequently performed work is probably the orchestral work Pacific 231, which is interpreted as imitating the sound of a steam locomotive.-Biography:Born...
, and a performance of Henze'sHans Werner HenzeHans Werner Henze is a German composer of prodigious output best known for "his consistent cultivation of music for the theatre throughout his life"...
Third Symphony. - October 21 – Opening of a "Festival of Music and the Arts" at Wexford in Ireland, the forerunner of Wexford Festival OperaWexford Festival OperaThe Wexford Festival Opera is an opera festival that takes place in the town of Wexford in South-Eastern Ireland during the months of October and November.-Festival origins under Tom Walsh, 1951 to 1966:...
. - October 22 – Reopening of the Royal Opera HouseRoyal Opera HouseThe Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
, London, with a production of PucciniGiacomo PucciniGiacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini was an Italian composer whose operas, including La bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, and Turandot, are among the most frequently performed in the standard repertoire...
's TurandotTurandotTurandot is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, set to a libretto in Italian by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni.Though Puccini's first interest in the subject was based on his reading of Friedrich Schiller's adaptation of the play, his work is most nearly based on the earlier text Turandot...
, conducted by Sir John BarbirolliJohn BarbirolliSir John Barbirolli, CH was an English conductor and cellist. Born in London, of Italian and French parentage, he grew up in a family of professional musicians. His father and grandfather were violinists...
and with Gertrude Grob-PrandlGertrude Grob-PrandlGertrude Grob-Prandl was an Austrian Wagnerian soprano.Grob-Prandl was born in Vienna and studied at the conservatory there. She originally intended to become a piano teacher but the professors at the conservatory began to notice the size of her voice and she was placed in a singing class...
in the title role. - November 29 – December 3 – The Hamburg Radio Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Hans Schmidt-IsserstedtHans Schmidt-IsserstedtHans Schmidt-Isserstedt was a German conductor and composer.-Early life:Born in Berlin, he studied music in Heidelberg and Münster. He was also a composition student with Franz Schreker at the Berlin Hochschule für Musik, and received a doctorate in 1923.-Career:He was a repetiteur at the...
, plays four concerts in London as part of a thirteen-concert tour of England and Ireland. - November – Dinah ShoreDinah ShoreDinah Shore was an American singer, actress, and television personality...
begins her first TV series, The Dinah Shore Show, which will run for 5½ years. - December 7 – Opening of the opera season at La ScalaLa ScalaLa Scala , is a world renowned opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the New Royal-Ducal Theatre at La Scala...
in MilanMilanMilan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, three weeks earlier than the traditional date of December 26, with a double-bill consisting of Verdi'sGiuseppe VerdiGiuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century...
I vespri sicilianiLes vêpres siciliennesLes vêpres siciliennes is an opéra in five acts by the Italian romantic composer Giuseppe Verdi set to a French libretto by Charles Duveyrier and Eugène Scribe from their work Le duc d'Albe, which was written in 1838 and offered to Halevy and Donizetti before Verdi...
and Stravinsky'sIgor StravinskyIgor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ; 6 April 1971) was a Russian, later naturalized French, and then naturalized American composer, pianist, and conductor....
The Rake's ProgressThe Rake's ProgressThe Rake's Progress is an opera in three acts and an epilogue by Igor Stravinsky. The libretto, written by W. H. Auden and Chester Kallman, is based loosely on the eight paintings and engravings A Rake's Progress of William Hogarth, which Stravinsky had seen on May 2, 1947, in a Chicago...
. - Teresa BrewerTeresa BrewerTeresa Brewer was an American pop singer whose style incorporated elements of country, jazz, R&B, musicals and novelty songs. She was one of the most prolific and popular female singers of the 1950s, recording nearly 600 songs. Born Theresa Breuer in Toledo, Ohio, Brewer died of a neuromuscular...
leaves the London label for Coral. - Georgia GibbsGeorgia GibbsGeorgia Gibbs was an American popular singer and vocal entertainer rooted in jazz. Already singing publicly in her early teens, Gibbs first achieved acclaim in the mid-1950s interpreting songs originating with the black rhythm and blues community and later as a featured vocalist on a long list of...
leaves Coral to sign with Mercury, where she will experience all of her biggest hits. - Frankie LaineFrankie LaineFrankie Laine, born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio , was a successful American singer, songwriter, and actor whose career spanned 75 years, from his first concerts in 1930 with a marathon dance company to his final performance of "That's My Desire" in 2005...
is signed by Columbia Records, becoming the highest paid vocalist of his day. He immediately justifies his new contract with the double-sided megahit "Jezebel"/"Rose, Rose, I Love You." - The Suk TrioSuk TrioThe Suk Trio is a Czech piano trio founded in 1951. They made their debut on March 5 at the Rudolfinum Hall in Prague with Josef Suk , Jiří Hubička and Alexandr Večtomov...
is founded, consisting of Josef SukJosef Suk (violinist)Josef Suk was a Czech violinist, violist, chamber musician and conductor, the grandson of Josef Suk, the composer and violinist, and great-grandson of Antonín Dvořák. In his home country he carried the title of National Artist....
, Julius KatchenJulius KatchenJulius Katchen was an American concert pianist, possibly best known for his recordings of Johannes Brahms's solo piano compositions.-Early career:...
and Janos StarkerJános StarkerJános Starker |Kingdom of Hungary]]) is a Hungarian-American cellist. Since 1958 he has taught at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where he holds the title of Distinguished Professor.- Child prodigy :...
.
Albums released
- Ballin' the Jack – Georgia GibbsGeorgia GibbsGeorgia Gibbs was an American popular singer and vocal entertainer rooted in jazz. Already singing publicly in her early teens, Gibbs first achieved acclaim in the mid-1950s interpreting songs originating with the black rhythm and blues community and later as a featured vocalist on a long list of...
- Beloved Hymns – Bing CrosbyBing CrosbyHarry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
- Bing and the Dixieland Bands – Bing Crosby
- Bing Sing Victor Herbert – Bing Crosby
- Blue Period – Miles DavisMiles DavisMiles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
- Country Style – Bing Crosby
- Dig – Miles DavisMiles DavisMiles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
- Down Memory Lane – Bing Crosby
- Folksong Favorites – Patti PagePatti PageClara Ann Fowler , known by her professional name Patti Page, is an American singer, one of the best-known female artists in traditional pop music. She was the best-selling female artist of the 1950s, and has sold over 100 million records...
- Go West, Young Man – Bing Crosby
- Historically Speaking – Gerry MulliganGerry MulliganGerald Joseph "Gerry" Mulligan was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, composer and arranger. Though Mulligan is primarily known as one of the leading baritone saxophonists in jazz history – playing the instrument with a light and airy tone in the era of cool jazz – he was also...
- Hoop-De-Doo – The Ames Brothers
- I'll See You in My DreamsI'll See You in My Dreams (album)I'll See You in My Dreams was a 10" LP album issued by Columbia Records as catalog # CL-6198 on December 14, 1951, featuring Doris Day and Paul Weston's orchestra, containing songs from the soundtrack of the movie of the same name....
– Doris DayDoris DayDoris Day is an American actress, singer and, since her retirement from show business, an animal rights activist. With an entertainment career that spanned through almost 50 years, Day started her career as a big band singer in 1939, but only began to be noticed after her first hit recording,... - In the Evening by the Moonlight – The Ames Brothers
- Let's Polka – Frank Yankovic OrchestraFrankie YankovicFrankie Yankovic was a Grammy Award-winning polka musician. Known as "America's Polka King," Yankovic was the premier artist to play in the Slovenian style during a long and successful career.-Background:Of Slovene descent, he was raised in South Euclid, Ohio...
(Pontiac Records PLP-520) - Lullaby of BroadwayLullaby of Broadway (album)Lullaby of Broadway was a 10" LP album of songs sung by Doris Day which was released on March 5, 1951 under catalog number CL-6168. The songs on the album were taken from the soundtrack of the movie of the same name in which she starred.-Track listing:...
– Doris Day - Music, Maestro Please – Frankie LaineFrankie LaineFrankie Laine, born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio , was a successful American singer, songwriter, and actor whose career spanned 75 years, from his first concerts in 1930 with a marathon dance company to his final performance of "That's My Desire" in 2005...
- On Moonlight BayOn Moonlight Bay (album)On Moonlight Bay is a Doris Day album featuring songs from the movie of the same name. It was issued by Columbia Records as a 10" LP album, catalog number CL-6186....
– Doris Day - One for My Baby – Frankie Laine
- PopoPopo (album)Popo is a jazz album co-led by trumpeter Shorty Rogers and alto saxophonist Art Pepper, recorded in 1951.-Track listing:#"Popo " – 4:19#"What's New? " – 2:17#"Lullaby In Rhythm " - 5:22...
– Art PepperArt PepperArt Pepper , born Arthur Edward Pepper, Jr., was an American alto saxophonist and clarinetist.About Pepper, Scott Yanow of All Music stated, "In the 1950s he was one of the few altoists that was able to develop his own sound despite the dominant influence of Charlie Parker" and: "When Art Pepper...
and Shorty RogersShorty RogersMilton “Shorty” Rogers , born Milton Rajonsky in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, was one of the principal creators of West Coast jazz. He played both the trumpet and flugelhorn, and was in demand for his skills as an arranger. Rogers worked first as a professional musician with Will Bradley and... - Porgy and BessPorgy and Bess (1951 album)This 1951 recording of George Gershwin's opera Porgy and Bess was the first "complete" recording of the work from beginning to end, not a series of selections of popular songs from the work. This 1951 recording of George Gershwin's opera Porgy and Bess was the first "complete" recording of the...
– Various Artists - Sentimental Me – The Ames Brothers
- Sweet Leilani – The Ames Brothers
- Teresa Brewer – Teresa BrewerTeresa BrewerTeresa Brewer was an American pop singer whose style incorporated elements of country, jazz, R&B, musicals and novelty songs. She was one of the most prolific and popular female singers of the 1950s, recording nearly 600 songs. Born Theresa Breuer in Toledo, Ohio, Brewer died of a neuromuscular...
- Two Tickets to Broadway – Dinah ShoreDinah ShoreDinah Shore was an American singer, actress, and television personality...
- Way Back Home – Bing Crosby
- Wonderful Words – The Mills Brothers
US No 1 hit singles
These singles reached the top of US Billboard magazine's charts in 1951.| First week | Number of weeks | Title | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|
| March 3, 1951 | 1 | "If If (They Made Me a King) "If " is a popular song.The music was written by Tolchard Evans, the lyrics by Robert Hargreaves and Stanley J. Damerell. The song was written in 1934, but the most popular versions were recorded in 1950-1951... " |
Perry Como Perry Como Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como was an American singer and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century he recorded exclusively for the RCA Victor label after signing with them in 1943. "Mr... |
| March 10, 1951 | 1 | "Be My Love Be My Love "Be My Love" is a popular song with lyrics bySammy Cahn and music by Nicholas Brodzsky. It was published in 1950 and featured in the 1950 movie The Toast of New Orleans, where it was sung by Kathryn Grayson and Mario Lanza. The Lanza recording of the song was a million-seller and a Billboard #1... " |
Mario Lanza Mario Lanza right|thumb|[[MGM]] still, circa 1949Mario Lanza was an American tenor and Hollywood movie star of the late 1940s and the 1950s. The son of Italian emigrants, he began studying to be a professional singer at the age of 16.... |
| March 17, 1951 | 5 | "If If (They Made Me a King) "If " is a popular song.The music was written by Tolchard Evans, the lyrics by Robert Hargreaves and Stanley J. Damerell. The song was written in 1934, but the most popular versions were recorded in 1950-1951... " |
Perry Como Perry Como Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como was an American singer and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century he recorded exclusively for the RCA Victor label after signing with them in 1943. "Mr... |
| April 21, 1951 | 9 | "How High the Moon How High the Moon "How High the Moon" is a jazz standard with lyrics by Nancy Hamilton and music by Morgan Lewis. It was first featured in the 1940 Broadway revue Two for the Show, where it was sung by Alfred Drake and Frances Comstock.... " |
Les Paul Les Paul Lester William Polsfuss —known as Les Paul—was an American jazz and country guitarist, songwriter and inventor. He was a pioneer in the development of the solid-body electric guitar which made the sound of rock and roll possible. He is credited with many recording innovations... & Mary Ford Mary Ford Mary Ford , born Iris Colleen Summers, was an American vocalist and guitarist, comprising half of the husband-and-wife musical team Les Paul and Mary Ford. Between 1950 and 1954, the couple had 16 top-ten hits... |
| June 23, 1951 | 5 | "Too Young Too Young "Too Young" is a popular song.The music was written by Sidney Lippman, the lyrics by Sylvia Dee. The song was published in 1951.In the United States, the best-known version of the song was recorded by Nat King Cole on February 6, 1951 and released by Capitol Records as catalog number 1449... " |
Nat King Cole Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles , known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. Although an accomplished pianist, he owes most of his popular musical fame to his soft baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres... |
| July 28, 1951 | 6 | "Come On-a My House Come on-a My House "Come on-a My House" is a song performed by Rosemary Clooney on her album Come On-A My House, released on June 6, 1951. The song was written by Ross Bagdasarian and noted Armenian American writer William Saroyan in the summer of 1939 but did not become a hit until the release of Clooney's recording... " |
Rosemary Clooney Rosemary Clooney Rosemary Clooney was an American singer and actress. She came to prominence in the early 1950s with the novelty hit "Come On-a My House" written by William Saroyan and his cousin Ross Bagdasarian , which was followed by other pop numbers such as "Botch-a-Me" Rosemary Clooney (May 23, 1928 –... |
| September 8, 1951 | 8 | "Because of You Because of You (1940 song) "Because of You" is a popular song. It was written by Arthur Hammerstein and Dudley Wilkinson in 1940. It was used in the 1951 film I Was an American Spy.... " |
Tony Bennett Tony Bennett Tony Bennett is an American singer of popular music, standards, show tunes, and jazz.... |
| November 3, 1951 | 6 | "Cold, Cold Heart Cold, Cold Heart "Cold, Cold Heart" is a country music and popular music song, written by Hank Williams. This blues ballad is both a classic of honky tonk and an entry in the Great American Songbook.... " |
Tony Bennett Tony Bennett Tony Bennett is an American singer of popular music, standards, show tunes, and jazz.... |
| December 15, 1951 | 2 | "(It's No) Sin (It's No) Sin " Sin" is a 1951 popular song with music by George Hoven and lyrics by Chester R. Shull. Popular recordings of the song were made by The Four Aces and Eddy Howard.... " |
Eddy Howard Eddy Howard Eddy Howard was an American vocalist and bandleader who was popular during the 1940s and 1950s.-Biography:... |
| December 29, 1951 | 11 | "Cry Cry (Churchill Kohlman song) "Cry" is the title of a 1951 popular song written by Churchill Kohlman. The song was first recorded by Ruth Casey on the Cadillac label. The biggest hit version was recorded in New York City by Johnnie Ray and The Four Lads on October 16, 1951.... " |
Johnnie Ray Johnnie Ray Johnnie Ray was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Popular for most of the 1950s, Ray has been cited by critics as a major precursor of what would become rock and roll, for his jazz and blues-influenced music and his animated stage personality.-Early life:John Alvin Ray was born in... & The Four Lads The Four Lads The Four Lads is a popular Canadian male singing quartet. In the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, the group earned many gold singles and albums. Its million-selling signature tunes include "Moments to Remember," "Standin' on the Corner," "No, Not Much," "Who Needs You," and "Istanbul."The Four Lads makes... |
Biggest hit singles
The following songs achieved the highest chart positionsin the limited set of charts available for 1951.
| # | Artist | Title | Year | Country | Chart Entries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Johnnie Ray Johnnie Ray Johnnie Ray was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Popular for most of the 1950s, Ray has been cited by critics as a major precursor of what would become rock and roll, for his jazz and blues-influenced music and his animated stage personality.-Early life:John Alvin Ray was born in... |
Cry Cry (Churchill Kohlman song) "Cry" is the title of a 1951 popular song written by Churchill Kohlman. The song was first recorded by Ruth Casey on the Cadillac label. The biggest hit version was recorded in New York City by Johnnie Ray and The Four Lads on October 16, 1951.... |
1951 |  |
US 1940s 1 – Dec 1951, US 1 for 11 weeks Dec 1951, US BB 2 of 1951, DDD 4 of 1951, RYM 5 of 1951, POP 6 of 1952, Italy 68 of 1955, Acclaimed 1084 |
| 2 | Nat King Cole Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles , known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. Although an accomplished pianist, he owes most of his popular musical fame to his soft baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres... |
Unforgettable Unforgettable (song) "Unforgettable" is a popular song written by Irving Gordon. The song's original working title was "Uncomparable". The music publishing company asked Irving to change it to "Unforgettable". The song was published in 1951.... |
1951 | |
US BB 1 of 1952, POP 1 of 1952, RYM 4 of 1951, US 1940s 14 – Nov 1951, DDD 25 of 1951, Europe 63 of the 1950s, Scrobulate 78 of vocal, WXPN 500 |
| 3 | Les Paul Les Paul Lester William Polsfuss —known as Les Paul—was an American jazz and country guitarist, songwriter and inventor. He was a pioneer in the development of the solid-body electric guitar which made the sound of rock and roll possible. He is credited with many recording innovations... & Mary Ford Mary Ford Mary Ford , born Iris Colleen Summers, was an American vocalist and guitarist, comprising half of the husband-and-wife musical team Les Paul and Mary Ford. Between 1950 and 1954, the couple had 16 top-ten hits... |
How High the Moon How High the Moon "How High the Moon" is a jazz standard with lyrics by Nancy Hamilton and music by Morgan Lewis. It was first featured in the 1940 Broadway revue Two for the Show, where it was sung by Alfred Drake and Frances Comstock.... |
1951 | |
US 1940s 1 – Mar 1951, US 1 for 9 weeks Apr 1951, DDD 10 of 1951, US BB 12 of 1951, POP 12 of 1951, RYM 19 of 1951, RIAA 317, Acclaimed 514 |
| 4 | Nat King Cole Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles , known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. Although an accomplished pianist, he owes most of his popular musical fame to his soft baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres... |
Too Young Too Young "Too Young" is a popular song.The music was written by Sidney Lippman, the lyrics by Sylvia Dee. The song was published in 1951.In the United States, the best-known version of the song was recorded by Nat King Cole on February 6, 1951 and released by Capitol Records as catalog number 1449... |
1951 | |
US 1940s 1 – Apr 1951, US 1 for 5 weeks Jun 1951, POP 1 of 1951, DDD 5 of 1951, RYM 10 of 1951 |
| 5 | Mario Lanza Mario Lanza right|thumb|[[MGM]] still, circa 1949Mario Lanza was an American tenor and Hollywood movie star of the late 1940s and the 1950s. The son of Italian emigrants, he began studying to be a professional singer at the age of 16.... |
Be My Love Be My Love "Be My Love" is a popular song with lyrics bySammy Cahn and music by Nicholas Brodzsky. It was published in 1950 and featured in the 1950 movie The Toast of New Orleans, where it was sung by Kathryn Grayson and Mario Lanza. The Lanza recording of the song was a million-seller and a Billboard #1... |
1951 | |
US 1940s 1 – Dec 1950, US 1 for 1 weeks Mar 1951, US BB 9 of 1951, POP 9 of 1951, Europe 79 of the 1950s, RYM 137 of 1951 |
Top hits on record
- "Aba Daba HoneymoonAba Daba HoneymoonAba Daba Honeymoon is a popular song that was written and published by Arthur Fields and Walter Donovan in 1914. Known through its chorus, "Aba daba daba daba daba daba dab, Said the chimpie to the monk; Baba daba daba daba daba daba dab, Said the monkey to the chimp," the first recording of Aba...
" – Debbie ReynoldsDebbie ReynoldsDebbie Reynolds is an American actress, singer, and dancer.She was initially signed at age 16 by Warner Bros., but her career got off to a slow start. When her contract was not renewed, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer gave her a small, but significant part in the film Three Little Words , then signed her to...
& Carleton CarpenterCarleton CarpenterCarleton Carpenter is an American movie/television/stage actor, a magician, author and songwriter.... - "Because" – Mario LanzaMario Lanzaright|thumb|[[MGM]] still, circa 1949Mario Lanza was an American tenor and Hollywood movie star of the late 1940s and the 1950s. The son of Italian emigrants, he began studying to be a professional singer at the age of 16....
- "Because Of YouBecause of You (1940 song)"Because of You" is a popular song. It was written by Arthur Hammerstein and Dudley Wilkinson in 1940. It was used in the 1951 film I Was an American Spy....
" – Tony BennettTony BennettTony Bennett is an American singer of popular music, standards, show tunes, and jazz.... - "Belle, Belle, My Liberty Belle" – Guy MitchellGuy MitchellGuy Mitchell, born Albert George Cernik, was an American pop singer, successful in his homeland, the U.K. and Australia...
- "Blue TangoBlue Tango"Blue Tango" is an instrumental composition by Leroy Anderson. it was later turned into a popular song with lyrics by Mitchell Parish. It was published in 1952...
" – Leroy AndersonLeroy AndersonLeroy Anderson was an American composer of short, light concert pieces, many of which were introduced by the Boston Pops Orchestra under the direction of Arthur Fiedler...
& his Orchestra - "CharmaineCharmaine (song)"Charmaine" is a popular song written by Erno Rapee, with lyrics by Lew Pollack. The song was written in 1926 and published in 1927. However, Desmond Carrington on his BBC Radio 2 programme marked the song's writing as being in 1913....
" – MantovaniMantovaniAnnunzio Paolo Mantovani known as Mantovani, was an Anglo-Italian conductor and light orchestra-styled entertainer with a cascading strings musical signature. The book British Hit Singles & Albums states that he was "Britain's most successful album act before The Beatles .....
& his Orchestra - "Cold, Cold HeartCold, Cold Heart"Cold, Cold Heart" is a country music and popular music song, written by Hank Williams. This blues ballad is both a classic of honky tonk and an entry in the Great American Songbook....
" – Tony BennettTony BennettTony Bennett is an American singer of popular music, standards, show tunes, and jazz.... - "Come On-A My HouseCome on-a My House"Come on-a My House" is a song performed by Rosemary Clooney on her album Come On-A My House, released on June 6, 1951. The song was written by Ross Bagdasarian and noted Armenian American writer William Saroyan in the summer of 1939 but did not become a hit until the release of Clooney's recording...
" – Rosemary ClooneyRosemary ClooneyRosemary Clooney was an American singer and actress. She came to prominence in the early 1950s with the novelty hit "Come On-a My House" written by William Saroyan and his cousin Ross Bagdasarian , which was followed by other pop numbers such as "Botch-a-Me" Rosemary Clooney (May 23, 1928 –... - "CryCry (Churchill Kohlman song)"Cry" is the title of a 1951 popular song written by Churchill Kohlman. The song was first recorded by Ruth Casey on the Cadillac label. The biggest hit version was recorded in New York City by Johnnie Ray and The Four Lads on October 16, 1951....
" – Johnnie RayJohnnie RayJohnnie Ray was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Popular for most of the 1950s, Ray has been cited by critics as a major precursor of what would become rock and roll, for his jazz and blues-influenced music and his animated stage personality.-Early life:John Alvin Ray was born in...
& The Four LadsThe Four LadsThe Four Lads is a popular Canadian male singing quartet. In the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, the group earned many gold singles and albums. Its million-selling signature tunes include "Moments to Remember," "Standin' on the Corner," "No, Not Much," "Who Needs You," and "Istanbul."The Four Lads makes... - "DetourDetour (song)"Detour " is a Western swing ballad written by Paul Westmoreland in 1945. The original version was by Jimmy Walker with Paul Westmoreland and His Pecos River Boys, issued around the beginning of November 1945....
" – Patti PagePatti PageClara Ann Fowler , known by her professional name Patti Page, is an American singer, one of the best-known female artists in traditional pop music. She was the best-selling female artist of the 1950s, and has sold over 100 million records... - "Down The Trail Of Achin' Hearts" – Patti PagePatti PageClara Ann Fowler , known by her professional name Patti Page, is an American singer, one of the best-known female artists in traditional pop music. She was the best-selling female artist of the 1950s, and has sold over 100 million records...
- "Down YonderDown Yonder"Down Yonder" is a popular song with words and music by L. Wolfe Gilbert. It was first published in 1921. Four characters from Gilbert's 1912 lyric to "Waiting for the Robert E. Lee" returned in this song...
" recorded by:- Del WoodDel WoodPolly Adelaide Hendricks Hazelwood , known professionally as Del Wood, was an American pianist.-Biography:...
- Champ Butler
- Del Wood
- "Flamenco" – Frankie LaineFrankie LaineFrankie Laine, born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio , was a successful American singer, songwriter, and actor whose career spanned 75 years, from his first concerts in 1930 with a marathon dance company to his final performance of "That's My Desire" in 2005...
- "Gambella (The Gamblin' Lady)" – Frankie LaineFrankie LaineFrankie Laine, born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio , was a successful American singer, songwriter, and actor whose career spanned 75 years, from his first concerts in 1930 with a marathon dance company to his final performance of "That's My Desire" in 2005...
& Jo StaffordJo StaffordJo Elizabeth Stafford was an American singer of traditional pop music and jazz standards and occasional actress whose career ran from the late 1930s to the early 1960s... - "The Gang That Sang Heart Of My Heart" – Frankie LaineFrankie LaineFrankie Laine, born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio , was a successful American singer, songwriter, and actor whose career spanned 75 years, from his first concerts in 1930 with a marathon dance company to his final performance of "That's My Desire" in 2005...
- "Get Happy" – Frankie LaineFrankie LaineFrankie Laine, born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio , was a successful American singer, songwriter, and actor whose career spanned 75 years, from his first concerts in 1930 with a marathon dance company to his final performance of "That's My Desire" in 2005...
- "Get Out Those Old Records" – Guy LombardoGuy LombardoGaetano Alberto "Guy" Lombardo was a Canadian-American bandleader and violinist.Forming "The Royal Canadians" in 1924 with his brothers Carmen, Lebert, and Victor and other musicians from his hometown, Lombardo led the group to international success, billing themselves as creating "The Sweetest...
(The Lombardo Trio vocals) - "The Girl In The Wood" – Frankie LaineFrankie LaineFrankie Laine, born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio , was a successful American singer, songwriter, and actor whose career spanned 75 years, from his first concerts in 1930 with a marathon dance company to his final performance of "That's My Desire" in 2005...
- "Give Me Time" – Johnnie RayJohnnie RayJohnnie Ray was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Popular for most of the 1950s, Ray has been cited by critics as a major precursor of what would become rock and roll, for his jazz and blues-influenced music and his animated stage personality.-Early life:John Alvin Ray was born in...
- "Gone Fishin'" – Bing CrosbyBing CrosbyHarry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
& Louis ArmstrongLouis ArmstrongLouis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana.... - "Got Him Off My Hands" – Georgia GibbsGeorgia GibbsGeorgia Gibbs was an American popular singer and vocal entertainer rooted in jazz. Already singing publicly in her early teens, Gibbs first achieved acclaim in the mid-1950s interpreting songs originating with the black rhythm and blues community and later as a featured vocalist on a long list of...
- "Hello, Young LoversHello, Young Lovers (song)"Hello, Young Lovers" is a show tune from the 1951 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, The King and I. It is sung by Anna, played by Gertrude Lawrence in the original Broadway production, by Valerie Hobson in the original London West End production, and by Deborah Kerr in the film version...
" recorded by:- Perry ComoPerry ComoPierino Ronald "Perry" Como was an American singer and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century he recorded exclusively for the RCA Victor label after signing with them in 1943. "Mr...
- Guy LombardoGuy LombardoGaetano Alberto "Guy" Lombardo was a Canadian-American bandleader and violinist.Forming "The Royal Canadians" in 1924 with his brothers Carmen, Lebert, and Victor and other musicians from his hometown, Lombardo led the group to international success, billing themselves as creating "The Sweetest...
(Kenny MartinKenny MartinKenny Martin is a racing driver who drove ARCA and NASCAR. He is better known by finishing 5th in his debut in the Craftsman Truck Series at the inaugural Daytona 250 which was filled by a number of trucks out of the race, driving the #98 truck...
vocals)
- Perry Como
- "Hey, Good Lookin'" – Frankie LaineFrankie LaineFrankie Laine, born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio , was a successful American singer, songwriter, and actor whose career spanned 75 years, from his first concerts in 1930 with a marathon dance company to his final performance of "That's My Desire" in 2005...
& Jo StaffordJo StaffordJo Elizabeth Stafford was an American singer of traditional pop music and jazz standards and occasional actress whose career ran from the late 1930s to the early 1960s... - "The Hot Canary" – Florian ZabachFlorian ZaBachFlorian ZaBach was an American musician and TV personality.His recording of "The Hot Canary" sold a million copies and reached the top 15 on the Pop charts in 1951. "Believe It or Not" timed his violin performance of "The Flight of the Bumblebee" and wrote, "he plays 12.8 notes per second ......
- "How High The MoonHow High the Moon"How High the Moon" is a jazz standard with lyrics by Nancy Hamilton and music by Morgan Lewis. It was first featured in the 1940 Broadway revue Two for the Show, where it was sung by Alfred Drake and Frances Comstock....
" – Les Paul and Mary FordLes Paul and Mary FordLes Paul and Mary Ford were a popular 1950s husband-and-wife/group musical team in which Les Paul played the guitar and Mary Ford sang. In 1951 alone, they sold six million records.... - "I Tawt I Taw A Puddy Tat" – Mel BlancMel BlancMelvin Jerome "Mel" Blanc was an American voice actor and comedian. Although he began his nearly six-decade-long career performing in radio commercials, Blanc is best remembered for his work with Warner Bros...
- "IfIf (They Made Me a King)"If " is a popular song.The music was written by Tolchard Evans, the lyrics by Robert Hargreaves and Stanley J. Damerell. The song was written in 1934, but the most popular versions were recorded in 1950-1951...
" – Perry ComoPerry ComoPierino Ronald "Perry" Como was an American singer and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century he recorded exclusively for the RCA Victor label after signing with them in 1943. "Mr... - "It Is No Secret" – Bill KennyBill KennyBill Kenny is a retired English professional soccer forward who played at least one season in the American Soccer League. In 1977, he scored seven goals in twenty games for the Cleveland Cobras.-References:...
& The Song Spinners - "It's All In the Game" – Tommy EdwardsTommy EdwardsTommy Edwards was a singer and songwriter. His biggest-selling record was with the multi-million-selling song, "It's All in the Game."-Career:...
- "It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas" – Perry ComoPerry ComoPierino Ronald "Perry" Como was an American singer and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century he recorded exclusively for the RCA Victor label after signing with them in 1943. "Mr...
& The Fontane SistersThe Fontane SistersThe Fontane Sisters were a trio from New Milford, New Jersey.-Early years:Their mother, Louise Rosse, was both a soloist and the leader of the St. Joseph's Church choir in New Milford. Bea and Marge started out singing for local functions, doing so well, they were urged to audition in New York City... - "Jealousy (Jalousie)" – Frankie LaineFrankie LaineFrankie Laine, born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio , was a successful American singer, songwriter, and actor whose career spanned 75 years, from his first concerts in 1930 with a marathon dance company to his final performance of "That's My Desire" in 2005...
- "JezebelJezebel (song)"Jezebel" is a 1951 popular song written by Wayne Shanklin. It was recorded by Frankie Laine with the Norman Luboff Choir and Mitch Miller and his orchestra on April 4, 1951 and released by Columbia Records as catalog number 39367...
" – Frankie LaineFrankie LaineFrankie Laine, born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio , was a successful American singer, songwriter, and actor whose career spanned 75 years, from his first concerts in 1930 with a marathon dance company to his final performance of "That's My Desire" in 2005... - "The Little White Cloud That CriedThe Little White Cloud That Cried"The Little White Cloud that Cried" is a popular song written by Johnnie Ray and published in 1951.The biggest hit version was recorded by Ray and The Four Lads in 1951. The recording was released by Okeh Records as catalog number 6840...
" – Johnnie RayJohnnie RayJohnnie Ray was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Popular for most of the 1950s, Ray has been cited by critics as a major precursor of what would become rock and roll, for his jazz and blues-influenced music and his animated stage personality.-Early life:John Alvin Ray was born in...
& The Four LadsThe Four LadsThe Four Lads is a popular Canadian male singing quartet. In the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, the group earned many gold singles and albums. Its million-selling signature tunes include "Moments to Remember," "Standin' on the Corner," "No, Not Much," "Who Needs You," and "Istanbul."The Four Lads makes... - "The Loveliest Night Of The Year" – Mario LanzaMario Lanzaright|thumb|[[MGM]] still, circa 1949Mario Lanza was an American tenor and Hollywood movie star of the late 1940s and the 1950s. The son of Italian emigrants, he began studying to be a professional singer at the age of 16....
- "Lullaby of BroadwayLullaby of Broadway (song)"Lullaby of Broadway" is a popular song with music written by Harry Warren and lyrics by Al Dubin, published in 1935. The song was introduced by Wini Shaw in the musical film, Gold Diggers of 1935, and, in an unusual move, it was used as background music in a sequence in the Bette Davis film...
" – Doris DayDoris DayDoris Day is an American actress, singer and, since her retirement from show business, an animal rights activist. With an entertainment career that spanned through almost 50 years, Day started her career as a big band singer in 1939, but only began to be noticed after her first hit recording,... - "Mister And MississippiMister and Mississippi"Mister and Mississippi" is a popular song, written by Irving Gordon. It was published in 1951. The song was popularized by Patti Page. It was also recorded by Rex Allen, Dennis Day and Johnny Desmond....
" – Patti PagePatti PageClara Ann Fowler , known by her professional name Patti Page, is an American singer, one of the best-known female artists in traditional pop music. She was the best-selling female artist of the 1950s, and has sold over 100 million records... - "Mockin' Bird HillMockin' Bird HillMockin' Bird Hill is a 3/4 song was written by Vaughn Horton and published in 1951. It was popularized by Patti Page and by Les Paul and Mary Ford in 1951, and for both of them following on to their big hit of "The Tennessee Waltz" the previous year...
" – Patti PagePatti PageClara Ann Fowler , known by her professional name Patti Page, is an American singer, one of the best-known female artists in traditional pop music. She was the best-selling female artist of the 1950s, and has sold over 100 million records... - "My Heart Cries For YouMy Heart Cries for You"My Heart Cries for You" is a popular song, adapted by Carl Sigman and Percy Faith from an 18th century French melody.The music is from an old French song attributed to Marie Antoinette " La jardinière du Roi"...
" recorded by:- Vic DamoneVic DamoneVic Damone is an American singer and entertainer.- Early life :Damone was born Vito Rocco Farinola in Brooklyn, New York to French-Italian immigrants based in Bari, Italy—Rocco and Mamie Farinola. His father was an electrician; and his mother taught piano. His cousin was the actress and singer...
- Guy MitchellGuy MitchellGuy Mitchell, born Albert George Cernik, was an American pop singer, successful in his homeland, the U.K. and Australia...
- Dinah ShoreDinah ShoreDinah Shore was an American singer, actress, and television personality...
- Vic Damone
- "My Truly, Truly FairMy Truly, Truly Fair"My Truly, Truly Fair" is a popular song written by Bob Merrill. It was published in 1951. The song was one of a number of Bob Merrill songs popularized by Guy Mitchell. Mitchell recorded it with Mitch Miller and his orchestra on April 30, 1951. The song was released by Columbia Records as catalog...
" – Guy MitchellGuy MitchellGuy Mitchell, born Albert George Cernik, was an American pop singer, successful in his homeland, the U.K. and Australia... - "On Top Of Old SmokyOn Top of Old Smoky"On Top of Old Smoky" is a traditional folk song and a well-known ballad of the United States which, as recorded by The Weavers, reached the pop music charts in 1951....
" – The WeaversThe WeaversThe Weavers were an American folk music quartet based in the Greenwich Village area of New York City. They sang traditional folk songs from around the world, as well as blues, gospel music, children's songs, labor songs, and American ballads, and selling millions of records at the height of their...
with Terry GilkysonTerry GilkysonHamilton H. Gilkyson III , better known as Terry Gilkyson, was an American folk singer, composer, and lyricist.-Biography:... - "Once Upon A Nickel" – Georgia GibbsGeorgia GibbsGeorgia Gibbs was an American popular singer and vocal entertainer rooted in jazz. Already singing publicly in her early teens, Gibbs first achieved acclaim in the mid-1950s interpreting songs originating with the black rhythm and blues community and later as a featured vocalist on a long list of...
- "One For My Baby" – Frankie LaineFrankie LaineFrankie Laine, born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio , was a successful American singer, songwriter, and actor whose career spanned 75 years, from his first concerts in 1930 with a marathon dance company to his final performance of "That's My Desire" in 2005...
- "Paths Of Paradise" – Johnnie RayJohnnie RayJohnnie Ray was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Popular for most of the 1950s, Ray has been cited by critics as a major precursor of what would become rock and roll, for his jazz and blues-influenced music and his animated stage personality.-Early life:John Alvin Ray was born in...
- "Pretty-Eyed Baby" – Jo StaffordJo StaffordJo Elizabeth Stafford was an American singer of traditional pop music and jazz standards and occasional actress whose career ran from the late 1930s to the early 1960s...
& Frankie LaineFrankie LaineFrankie Laine, born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio , was a successful American singer, songwriter, and actor whose career spanned 75 years, from his first concerts in 1930 with a marathon dance company to his final performance of "That's My Desire" in 2005... - "Red Sails In The SunsetRed Sails in the Sunset (song)"Red Sails in the Sunset" is a popular song.Published in 1935, its music was written by Hugh Williams with lyrics by prolific songwriter Jimmy Kennedy...
" – Nat King ColeNat King ColeNathaniel Adams Coles , known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. Although an accomplished pianist, he owes most of his popular musical fame to his soft baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres... - "Rose, Rose, I Love YouRose, Rose, I Love You"Rose, Rose, I Love You" is the standard English title of the 1940 Chinese popular song "Méigui méigui wǒ ài nǐ" , first recorded by Yao Lee . An English-language version whose lyrics have little in common with the original Mandarin was first recorded by Frankie Laine in 1951...
" – Frankie LaineFrankie LaineFrankie Laine, born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio , was a successful American singer, songwriter, and actor whose career spanned 75 years, from his first concerts in 1930 with a marathon dance company to his final performance of "That's My Desire" in 2005... - "Shanghai" – Doris DayDoris DayDoris Day is an American actress, singer and, since her retirement from show business, an animal rights activist. With an entertainment career that spanned through almost 50 years, Day started her career as a big band singer in 1939, but only began to be noticed after her first hit recording,...
- "Sin(It's No) Sin" Sin" is a 1951 popular song with music by George Hoven and lyrics by Chester R. Shull. Popular recordings of the song were made by The Four Aces and Eddy Howard....
" – Eddy HowardEddy HowardEddy Howard was an American vocalist and bandleader who was popular during the 1940s and 1950s.-Biography:...
& his Orchestra - "Sound Off (The Duckworth Chant)" – Vaughn MonroeVaughn MonroeVaughn Wilton Monroe was an American baritone singer, trumpeter and big band leader and actor, most popular in the 1940s and 1950s. He has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for recording and radio.-Biography:...
- "Sparrow in the TreetopSparrow in the Treetop"Sparrow in the Treetop" is a popular song written by Bob Merrill. The song was published in 1951.Charting versions of the song were made by Guy Mitchell , Bing Crosby and The Andrews Sisters , and Rex Allen...
" – Guy MitchellGuy MitchellGuy Mitchell, born Albert George Cernik, was an American pop singer, successful in his homeland, the U.K. and Australia... - "A Sunday Kind Of Love" – Jo StaffordJo StaffordJo Elizabeth Stafford was an American singer of traditional pop music and jazz standards and occasional actress whose career ran from the late 1930s to the early 1960s...
- "Sweet VioletsSweet Violets"Sweet Violets" is a surprising humorous lyrics. The song consists mainly of couplets, except that the last word of each couplet, which can generally be inferred from a combination of context and the ostensible rhyming scheme, is instead cut off by the start of the next couplet or by the...
" – Dinah ShoreDinah ShoreDinah Shore was an American singer, actress, and television personality... - "The Syncopated ClockThe Syncopated Clock"The Syncopated Clock" is a piece of light music by American composer Leroy Anderson, which has become a feature of the pops orchestra repertoire.-Composition:...
" – Leroy AndersonLeroy AndersonLeroy Anderson was an American composer of short, light concert pieces, many of which were introduced by the Boston Pops Orchestra under the direction of Arthur Fiedler...
& his Orchestra - "Tell Me" – Doris DayDoris DayDoris Day is an American actress, singer and, since her retirement from show business, an animal rights activist. With an entertainment career that spanned through almost 50 years, Day started her career as a big band singer in 1939, but only began to be noticed after her first hit recording,...
- "Tell Me WhyTell Me Why (1951 song)"Tell Me Why" is a popular song written by Marty Gold with the lyrics by Al Alberts. The song was published in 1951.-Major recorded versions:The hit version of the song was recorded by Alberts' group, The Four Aces, in 1951...
" – The Four AcesThe Four AcesThe Four Aces is an American male traditional pop music quartet, popular since the 1950s. Over the last half-century, the group amassed many gold records. Its million-selling signature tunes include "Love is a Many-Splendored Thing", "Three Coins in the Fountain", "Stranger in Paradise", "Tell Me...
featuring Al AlbertsAl AlbertsAl Alberts was a popular singer and composer. -Biography:Born Al Albertini in Chester, Pennsylvania, he went to South Philadelphia High School, whose alumni included many others who would become famous in show business, such as Joey Bishop, Buddy Greco, Al Martino, Mario Lanza, Chubby Checker,... - "Tell The Lady I Said Goodbye" – Johnnie RayJohnnie RayJohnnie Ray was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Popular for most of the 1950s, Ray has been cited by critics as a major precursor of what would become rock and roll, for his jazz and blues-influenced music and his animated stage personality.-Early life:John Alvin Ray was born in...
- "Tom's Tune" – Georgia GibbsGeorgia GibbsGeorgia Gibbs was an American popular singer and vocal entertainer rooted in jazz. Already singing publicly in her early teens, Gibbs first achieved acclaim in the mid-1950s interpreting songs originating with the black rhythm and blues community and later as a featured vocalist on a long list of...
- "Too YoungToo Young"Too Young" is a popular song.The music was written by Sidney Lippman, the lyrics by Sylvia Dee. The song was published in 1951.In the United States, the best-known version of the song was recorded by Nat King Cole on February 6, 1951 and released by Capitol Records as catalog number 1449...
" – Nat King ColeNat King ColeNathaniel Adams Coles , known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. Although an accomplished pianist, he owes most of his popular musical fame to his soft baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres... - "UndecidedUndecided"Undecided" is a popular song written by Sid Robins and Charlie Shavers and published in 1938.The first recording was made by John Kirby and The Onyx Club Boys on October 28, 1938, and released by Decca Records as catalog number 2216, with the flip side "From A Flat to C".It was also recorded by...
" – The Ames Brothers - "VanityVanity (song)"Vanity" is a popular song.The music was written by Guy Wood, the lyrics by Jack Manus and Bernard Bierman. The song was published in 1951. It had some success on the charts, reaching the top 20, in 1951 and was recorded by Don Cherry, who had recorded the hit version, for his 1968 album, There...
" – Don CherryDon Cherry (singer/golfer)Donald Ross Cherry is an American singer of traditional pop music, best known for his 1955 hit, "Band of Gold"; and a former amateur and professional golfer.-Biography:... - "When It's Sleep Time Down South" – Frankie LaineFrankie LaineFrankie Laine, born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio , was a successful American singer, songwriter, and actor whose career spanned 75 years, from his first concerts in 1930 with a marathon dance company to his final performance of "That's My Desire" in 2005...
- "While You Danced, Danced, Danced" – Georgia GibbsGeorgia GibbsGeorgia Gibbs was an American popular singer and vocal entertainer rooted in jazz. Already singing publicly in her early teens, Gibbs first achieved acclaim in the mid-1950s interpreting songs originating with the black rhythm and blues community and later as a featured vocalist on a long list of...
- "The World Is Waiting For The Sunrise" – Les Paul and Mary FordLes Paul and Mary FordLes Paul and Mary Ford were a popular 1950s husband-and-wife/group musical team in which Les Paul played the guitar and Mary Ford sang. In 1951 alone, they sold six million records....
- "Would I Love You (Love You, Love You)Would I Love You (Love You, Love You)"Would I Love You " is a popular song with music by Harold Spina and lyrics by Bob Russell. It was published in 1950.It was popularized by Patti Page in a recording made on January 2, 1951. The recording was issued by Mercury Records as catalog number 5571, and first reached the Billboard chart on...
" – Patti PagePatti PageClara Ann Fowler , known by her professional name Patti Page, is an American singer, one of the best-known female artists in traditional pop music. She was the best-selling female artist of the 1950s, and has sold over 100 million records...
`
Top R&B hits on record
- "Rocket 88Rocket 88"Rocket 88" is a rhythm and blues song that was first recorded at Sam Phillips' recording studio in Memphis, Tennessee, on 3 March or 5 March 1951...
" – Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats - "Sixty-Minute Man" – DominoesDominoesDominoes generally refers to the collective gaming pieces making up a domino set or to the subcategory of tile games played with domino pieces. In the area of mathematical tilings and polyominoes, the word domino often refers to any rectangle formed from joining two congruent squares edge to edge...
- "The Glory Of Love" – Five Keys
- "The Thrill Is Gone" – Roy HawkinsRoy HawkinsRoy Hawkins was an American pianist, songwriter and blues musician. After working in clubs and recording unsuccessful singles, he broke through with his song "Why Do Everything Happen to Me?," inspired by an auto accident which paralyzed his right arm.-Career:Little is known of Hawkins' early days...
Published popular music
- "Alice In Wonderland" w. Bob HilliardBob HilliardBob Hilliard was an American lyricist. He wrote the words for the songs; "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning", "Any Day Now", "Dear Hearts and Gentle People", "Our Day Will Come", "My Little Corner of the World", and "Seven Little Girls ".-Career:Born in New York City, New York, and after...
m. Sammy FainSammy FainSammy Fain was an American composer of popular music.-Biography:Sammy Fain was born in New York City. In 1923, Fain appeared with Artie Dunn in a short film directed by Lee De Forest filmed in DeForest's Phonofilm sound-on-film process. In 1925, Fain left the Fain-Dunn act to devote himself to... - "All In The Golden Afternoon" w. Bob HilliardBob HilliardBob Hilliard was an American lyricist. He wrote the words for the songs; "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning", "Any Day Now", "Dear Hearts and Gentle People", "Our Day Will Come", "My Little Corner of the World", and "Seven Little Girls ".-Career:Born in New York City, New York, and after...
m. Sammy FainSammy FainSammy Fain was an American composer of popular music.-Biography:Sammy Fain was born in New York City. In 1923, Fain appeared with Artie Dunn in a short film directed by Lee De Forest filmed in DeForest's Phonofilm sound-on-film process. In 1925, Fain left the Fain-Dunn act to devote himself to... - "Allentown Jail" w.m. Irving GordonIrving GordonIrving Gordon was an American songwriter.-Biography:Irving Gordon was born in Brooklyn, New York. As a child, he studied violin, and after attending public schools in New York City, went to work in the Catskill Mountains at some of the resort hotels in the area...
- "And So To Sleep AgainAnd So to Sleep Again"And So to Sleep Again" is a popular song, written in 1951 by Joe Marsala and Sunny Skylar.It was popularized by Patti Page in 1951.The Page recording was issued by Mercury Records as catalog number 5706, and first reached the Billboard chart on September 22, 1951, lasting 16 weeks and peaking at #4...
" w.m. Joe MarsalaJoe MarsalaJoe Marsala was an Italian-American jazz clarinetist and songwriter, born and based in Chicago. He was active during the big band era. Marsala is notable as one of the early employers of drummer Buddy Rich. Among his other musicians included pianist Joe Bushkin and guitarist Jack Lemaire, Carmen...
& Sunny SkylarSunny SkylarSunny Skylar was an American composer, singer, lyricist, and music publisher. He was born Selig Shaftel in Brooklyn, New York. As a singer, he appeared with a number of big bands, including those led by Ben Bernie, Paul Whiteman, Abe Lyman, George Hall and Vincent Lopez... - "Anywhere I WanderAnywhere I Wander"Anywhere I Wander" is a popular song.It was written by Frank Loesser. The song was published in 1951. It was introduced by Danny Kaye in the musical film Hans Christian Andersen....
" w.m. Frank LoesserFrank LoesserFrank Henry Loesser was an American songwriter who wrote the lyrics and scores to the Broadway hits Guys and Dolls and How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, among others. He won separate Tony Awards for the music and lyrics in both shows, as well as sharing the Pulitzer Prize for... - "A-Round The Corner" trad arr. Josef MaraisJosef MaraisJosef Marais was a popular singer from South Africa.In 1945 he met Rosa de Miranda and they teamed up, performing for more than 30 years as "Marais and Miranda", recording many South African traditional folk ballads and original songs such as Zulu Warrior.-Marais & Miranda:#Josef Marais and his...
- "Asia Minor" w.m. Roger King Mozian
- "A-Sleepin' At The Foot Of The Bed" Happy Wilson, Luther Patrick
- "Be My Life's CompanionBe My Life's Companion"Be My Life's Companion" is a popular song.It was written by Bob Hilliard and Milton De Lugg and published in 1951.-Major recorded versions:...
" w.m. Bob HilliardBob HilliardBob Hilliard was an American lyricist. He wrote the words for the songs; "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning", "Any Day Now", "Dear Hearts and Gentle People", "Our Day Will Come", "My Little Corner of the World", and "Seven Little Girls ".-Career:Born in New York City, New York, and after...
& Milton De Lugg - "Beautiful Brown Eyes" trad arr. Arthur Smith & Alton DelmoreThe Delmore BrothersAlton Delmore and Rabon Delmore , billed as The Delmore Brothers, were country music pioneers and stars of the Grand Ole Opry in the 1930s...
- "Because of YouBecause of You (1940 song)"Because of You" is a popular song. It was written by Arthur Hammerstein and Dudley Wilkinson in 1940. It was used in the 1951 film I Was an American Spy....
" w.m. Arthur HammersteinArthur HammersteinArthur Hammerstein , was the son of Oscar Hammerstein I and uncle of Oscar Hammerstein II, was an opera producer and one of the writers of the song "Because of You," a major hit for Tony Bennett in 1951. Hammerstein wrote the song in 1940. It was used in the film I Was an American Spy...
& Dudley Wilkinson - "Belle, Belle, My Liberty Belle" w.m. Bob MerrillBob MerrillBob Merrill was an American songwriter, theatrical composer, lyricist, and screenwriter.Merrill was born Henry Merrill Levan in Atlantic City, New Jersey and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Following a stint with the Army during World War II, he moved to Hollywood, where he worked as a...
- "Bermuda" w.m. Cynthia Strother & Eugene R. Strother
- "The Blacksmith Blues" w.m. Jack Holmes
- "Blue Velvet" w.m. Bernie Wayne & Lee Morris
- "Christopher Columbus" w.m. Terry GilkysonTerry GilkysonHamilton H. Gilkyson III , better known as Terry Gilkyson, was an American folk singer, composer, and lyricist.-Biography:...
- "Come On-A My HouseCome on-a My House"Come on-a My House" is a song performed by Rosemary Clooney on her album Come On-A My House, released on June 6, 1951. The song was written by Ross Bagdasarian and noted Armenian American writer William Saroyan in the summer of 1939 but did not become a hit until the release of Clooney's recording...
" w.m. Ross Bagdasarian & William SaroyanWilliam SaroyanWilliam Saroyan was an Armenian American dramatist and author. The setting of many of his stories and plays is the center of Armenian-American life in California in his native Fresno.-Early years:... - "CryCry (Churchill Kohlman song)"Cry" is the title of a 1951 popular song written by Churchill Kohlman. The song was first recorded by Ruth Casey on the Cadillac label. The biggest hit version was recorded in New York City by Johnnie Ray and The Four Lads on October 16, 1951....
" w.m. Churchill KohlmanChurchill KohlmanChurchill Kohlman was an African-American songwriter who wrote Johnnie Ray's 1951 hit, "Cry" while working in a Pittsburgh dry cleaning factory as the night watchman.... - "Dance Me Loose" w. Mel Howard m. Lee Erwin
- "Domino" w. (Eng) Don Raye (Fr) Jacques Plante m. Louis Ferrari
- "Getting To Know YouGetting to Know You (song)"Getting to Know You" is a show tune from the 1951 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The King and I. It was first sung by Gertrude Lawrence in the original Broadway production and later by Marni Nixon who dubbed for Deborah Kerr in the 1956 film adaptation...
" w. Oscar Hammerstein IIOscar Hammerstein IIOscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II was an American librettist, theatrical producer, and theatre director of musicals for almost forty years. Hammerstein won eight Tony Awards and was twice awarded an Academy Award for "Best Original Song". Many of his songs are standard repertoire for...
m. Richard RodgersRichard RodgersRichard Charles Rodgers was an American composer of music for more than 900 songs and for 43 Broadway musicals. He also composed music for films and television. He is best known for his songwriting partnerships with the lyricists Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II... - "Good Morning Mister Echo" w.m. Bill Putman & Belinda Putman
- "Half As MuchHalf as Much"Half as Much" is an American pop standard written by Curley Williams in 1951. It was first recorded by country music singer Hank Williams in 1952 and reached #2 on the Billboard Country Singles chart. The same year, Rosemary Clooney recorded a hit version for Top 40 markets and Alma Cogan in the...
" w.m. Curly Williams - "He Had Refinement" w. Dorothy FieldsDorothy FieldsDorothy Fields was an American librettist and lyricist.She wrote over 400 songs for Broadway musicals and films...
m. Arthur Schwartz - "Hello, Young LoversHello, Young Lovers (song)"Hello, Young Lovers" is a show tune from the 1951 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, The King and I. It is sung by Anna, played by Gertrude Lawrence in the original Broadway production, by Valerie Hobson in the original London West End production, and by Deborah Kerr in the film version...
" w. Oscar Hammerstein IIOscar Hammerstein IIOscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II was an American librettist, theatrical producer, and theatre director of musicals for almost forty years. Hammerstein won eight Tony Awards and was twice awarded an Academy Award for "Best Original Song". Many of his songs are standard repertoire for...
m. Richard RodgersRichard RodgersRichard Charles Rodgers was an American composer of music for more than 900 songs and for 43 Broadway musicals. He also composed music for films and television. He is best known for his songwriting partnerships with the lyricists Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II... - "Hey, Good Lookin"' w.m. Hank Williams
- "How Could You Believe Me When I Said I Love You When You Know I've Been A Liar All My Life?" w. Alan Jay LernerAlan Jay LernerAlan Jay Lerner was an American lyricist and librettist. In collaboration with Frederick Loewe, he created some of the world's most popular and enduring works of musical theatre for both the stage and on film...
m. Burton Lane - "I Can't Help It (If I'm Still In Love With You)" w.m. Hank Williams
- "I Get IdeasI Get Ideas-Origin:The music is a 1927 tango-canción called "Adios, Muchachos", composed by Argentinian Julio Cesar Sanders...
" w. Dorcas CochranDorcas CochranDorcas Cochran was an American lyricist and screenwriter. She is also referenced by her married name, Dorcas Cochran Jewell.-Biography:...
m. Lenny Sanders - "I Have DreamedI Have Dreamed (song)"I Have Dreamed" is a show tune from the 1951 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, The King and I. In the original Broadway production it was sung by Doretta Morrow and Larry Douglas. It has since become a standard, with many artists recording the song...
" w. Oscar Hammerstein IIOscar Hammerstein IIOscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II was an American librettist, theatrical producer, and theatre director of musicals for almost forty years. Hammerstein won eight Tony Awards and was twice awarded an Academy Award for "Best Original Song". Many of his songs are standard repertoire for...
m. Richard RodgersRichard RodgersRichard Charles Rodgers was an American composer of music for more than 900 songs and for 43 Broadway musicals. He also composed music for films and television. He is best known for his songwriting partnerships with the lyricists Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II... - "I Love LucyI Love LucyI Love Lucy is an American television sitcom starring Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, and William Frawley. The black-and-white series originally ran from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, on the Columbia Broadcasting System...
theme song" m. Eliot Daniel - "I Love The Sunshine Of Your Smile" w. Jack Hoffman m. Jimmy MacDonald
- "I Still See Elisa" w. Alan Jay LernerAlan Jay LernerAlan Jay Lerner was an American lyricist and librettist. In collaboration with Frederick Loewe, he created some of the world's most popular and enduring works of musical theatre for both the stage and on film...
m. Frederick Loewe. Introduced by James BartonJames BartonJames Barton was an American vaudevillian and a character actor in films and television.Born into a theatrical family in Gloucester City, New Jersey, Barton began performing in minstrel shows and burlesque houses throughout the country in 1898...
in the musical Paint Your WagonPaint Your WagonPaint Your Wagon is a Broadway musical comedy, with book and lyrics by Alan J. Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story centers around a miner and his daughter and follows the lives and loves of the people in a mining camp in Gold Rush-era California. Popular songs from the show included...
. Performed in the film version by Clint EastwoodClint EastwoodClinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...
. - "I Talk To The Trees" w. Alan Jay LernerAlan Jay LernerAlan Jay Lerner was an American lyricist and librettist. In collaboration with Frederick Loewe, he created some of the world's most popular and enduring works of musical theatre for both the stage and on film...
m. Frederick Loewe. Introduced by Tony Bavaar and Olga San JuanOlga San JuanOlga San Juan was an American actress, dancer and comedian, mainly active in films during the 1940s.She was born in Brooklyn, New York to Puerto Rican parents...
in the musical Paint Your WagonPaint Your WagonPaint Your Wagon is a Broadway musical comedy, with book and lyrics by Alan J. Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story centers around a miner and his daughter and follows the lives and loves of the people in a mining camp in Gold Rush-era California. Popular songs from the show included... - "I Whistle A Happy TuneI Whistle a Happy Tune"I Whistle a Happy Tune" is a show tune from the 1951 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, The King and I. It is sung by Anna Leonowens to her son Louis after the curtain rises on Act One of the musical, to persuade him not to be afraid as they arrive in Siam to serve the King....
" w. Oscar Hammerstein IIOscar Hammerstein IIOscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II was an American librettist, theatrical producer, and theatre director of musicals for almost forty years. Hammerstein won eight Tony Awards and was twice awarded an Academy Award for "Best Original Song". Many of his songs are standard repertoire for...
m. Richard RodgersRichard RodgersRichard Charles Rodgers was an American composer of music for more than 900 songs and for 43 Broadway musicals. He also composed music for films and television. He is best known for his songwriting partnerships with the lyricists Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II... - "I Wish I Wuz" w.m. Sid KullerSid KullerSid Kuller was an American comedy writer, producer and lyricist/composer, who concentrated on special musical material, gags and sketches for leading comics...
& Lyn MurrayLyn MurrayLyn Murray was a composer, conductor, and arranger of music for radio, film and television.Born as Lionel Breeze in London, he arrived on American shores to found the Lyn Murray Singers, who became known throughout the United States as the featured group on CBS Radio’s Your Hit Parade...
. Introduced in the film Slaughter TrailSlaughter TrailSlaughter Trail is a 1951 Cinecolor Western produced and directed by Irving Allen, filmed in Corriganville and released by RKO Pictures.-Plot:... - "I Won't Cry Anymore" w. Fred Wise m. Al Frisch
- "I'm A Fool To Want You" w.m. Jack Wolf, Joel Herron & Frank SinatraFrank SinatraFrancis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
- "I'm Late" w. Bob HilliardBob HilliardBob Hilliard was an American lyricist. He wrote the words for the songs; "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning", "Any Day Now", "Dear Hearts and Gentle People", "Our Day Will Come", "My Little Corner of the World", and "Seven Little Girls ".-Career:Born in New York City, New York, and after...
m. Sammy FainSammy FainSammy Fain was an American composer of popular music.-Biography:Sammy Fain was born in New York City. In 1923, Fain appeared with Artie Dunn in a short film directed by Lee De Forest filmed in DeForest's Phonofilm sound-on-film process. In 1925, Fain left the Fain-Dunn act to devote himself to... - "In The Cool, Cool, Cool Of The EveningIn the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening"In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening" is a popular song with music by Hoagy Carmichael and lyrics by Johnny Mercer. It was written for the 1951 film, Here Comes the Groom, and won the Academy Award for Best Original Song....
" w. Johnny MercerJohnny MercerJohn Herndon "Johnny" Mercer was an American lyricist, songwriter and singer. He is best known as a lyricist, but he also composed music. He was also a popular singer who recorded his own songs as well as those written by others...
m. Hoagy CarmichaelHoagy CarmichaelHoward Hoagland "Hoagy" Carmichael was an American composer, pianist, singer, actor, and bandleader. He is best known for writing "Stardust", "Georgia On My Mind", "The Nearness of You", and "Heart and Soul", four of the most-recorded American songs of all time.Alec Wilder, in his study of the...
. Introduced by Bing CrosbyBing CrosbyHarry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
and Jane WymanJane WymanJane Wyman was an American singer, dancer, and character actress of film and television. She began her film career in the 1930s, and was a prolific performer for two decades...
in the film Here Comes The GroomHere Comes the GroomHere Comes the Groom is a 1951 musical romantic comedy film starring Bing Crosby and Jane Wyman. Directed and produced by Frank Capra, the film was released by Paramount Pictures.-Plot:...
. - "It's All In The Game" w. Carl SigmanCarl SigmanCarl Sigman was an American songwriter.-Biography:Born in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, New York, Sigman graduated from law school and passed his Bar exams to practice in the state of New York...
m. Charles Gates DawesCharles G. DawesCharles Gates Dawes was an American banker and politician who was the 30th Vice President of the United States . For his work on the Dawes Plan for World War I reparations he was a co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. He served in the First World War, was U.S...
Based on "Melody" by Dawes 1912. - "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like ChristmasIt's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas"It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" is a classic Christmas song written in 1951 by Meredith Willson. The song was originally titled "It's Beginning to Look Like Christmas"...
" w.m. Meredith WillsonMeredith WillsonRobert Meredith Willson was an American composer, songwriter, conductor and playwright, best known for writing the book, music and lyrics for the hit Broadway musical The Music Man... - "JezebelJezebel (song)"Jezebel" is a 1951 popular song written by Wayne Shanklin. It was recorded by Frankie Laine with the Norman Luboff Choir and Mitch Miller and his orchestra on April 4, 1951 and released by Columbia Records as catalog number 39367...
" w.m. Wayne ShanklinWayne ShanklinWayne Shanklin was an American music performer, composer, arranger, and producer.... - "A Kiss To Build A Dream On" w. Oscar Hammerstein IIOscar Hammerstein IIOscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II was an American librettist, theatrical producer, and theatre director of musicals for almost forty years. Hammerstein won eight Tony Awards and was twice awarded an Academy Award for "Best Original Song". Many of his songs are standard repertoire for...
m. Harry Ruby - "Kisses Sweeter Than WineKisses Sweeter than Wine (song)"Kisses Sweeter than Wine" is a popular love song written by The Weavers in 1950, and a hit for Jimmie Rodgers in 1957 and Frankie Vaughan in 1958.-History:...
" w. Paul Campbell m. Joel Newman - "The Little White Cloud That CriedThe Little White Cloud That Cried"The Little White Cloud that Cried" is a popular song written by Johnnie Ray and published in 1951.The biggest hit version was recorded by Ray and The Four Lads in 1951. The recording was released by Okeh Records as catalog number 6840...
" w.m. Johnnie RayJohnnie RayJohnnie Ray was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Popular for most of the 1950s, Ray has been cited by critics as a major precursor of what would become rock and roll, for his jazz and blues-influenced music and his animated stage personality.-Early life:John Alvin Ray was born in... - "The March Of The Siamese Children" m. Richard RodgersRichard RodgersRichard Charles Rodgers was an American composer of music for more than 900 songs and for 43 Broadway musicals. He also composed music for films and television. He is best known for his songwriting partnerships with the lyricists Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II...
- "Mister And MississippiMister and Mississippi"Mister and Mississippi" is a popular song, written by Irving Gordon. It was published in 1951. The song was popularized by Patti Page. It was also recorded by Rex Allen, Dennis Day and Johnny Desmond....
" w.m. Irving GordonIrving GordonIrving Gordon was an American songwriter.-Biography:Irving Gordon was born in Brooklyn, New York. As a child, he studied violin, and after attending public schools in New York City, went to work in the Catskill Mountains at some of the resort hotels in the area... - "Misto Cristofo Columbo" w.m. Jay LivingstonJay LivingstonJay Livingston was an American composer and singer best known as half of a songwriting duo with Ray Evans that specialized in songs composed for films. Livingston wrote the music and Evans the lyrics....
& Ray EvansRay EvansRaymond Bernard Evans was an American songwriter. He was a partner in a composing and songwriting duo with Jay Livingston, known for the songs they composed for films... - "Mockin' Bird HillMockin' Bird HillMockin' Bird Hill is a 3/4 song was written by Vaughn Horton and published in 1951. It was popularized by Patti Page and by Les Paul and Mary Ford in 1951, and for both of them following on to their big hit of "The Tennessee Waltz" the previous year...
" w.m. Vaughn Horton - "The Morningside Of The Mountain" w.m. Dick ManningDick ManningDick Manning was a Russian-born American songwriter, best known for his many collaborations with Al Hoffman....
& Larry Stock - "My Truly, Truly FairMy Truly, Truly Fair"My Truly, Truly Fair" is a popular song written by Bob Merrill. It was published in 1951. The song was one of a number of Bob Merrill songs popularized by Guy Mitchell. Mitchell recorded it with Mitch Miller and his orchestra on April 30, 1951. The song was released by Columbia Records as catalog...
" w.m. Bob MerrillBob MerrillBob Merrill was an American songwriter, theatrical composer, lyricist, and screenwriter.Merrill was born Henry Merrill Levan in Atlantic City, New Jersey and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Following a stint with the Army during World War II, he moved to Hollywood, where he worked as a... - "No Two People" w.m. Frank LoesserFrank LoesserFrank Henry Loesser was an American songwriter who wrote the lyrics and scores to the Broadway hits Guys and Dolls and How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, among others. He won separate Tony Awards for the music and lyrics in both shows, as well as sharing the Pulitzer Prize for...
- "Sail Away" w.m. Noël CowardNoël CowardSir Noël Peirce Coward was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise".Born in Teddington, a suburb of London, Coward attended a dance academy...
- "Shall We Dance?" w. Oscar Hammerstein IIOscar Hammerstein IIOscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II was an American librettist, theatrical producer, and theatre director of musicals for almost forty years. Hammerstein won eight Tony Awards and was twice awarded an Academy Award for "Best Original Song". Many of his songs are standard repertoire for...
m. Richard RodgersRichard RodgersRichard Charles Rodgers was an American composer of music for more than 900 songs and for 43 Broadway musicals. He also composed music for films and television. He is best known for his songwriting partnerships with the lyricists Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II... - "Somewhere Along The WaySomewhere along the Way"Somewhere along the Way" is a popular song.The music was written by Kurt Adams, the lyrics by Sammy Gallop. The sheet music was published in 1952.The original recording by Nat King Cole was released by Capitol Records as catalog number 2069...
" w. Sammy Gallop m. Kurt Adams - "Shanghai(Why Did I Tell You I Was Going To) Shanghai" Shanghai" is a popular song written by Bob Hilliard and Milton De Lugg .It was recorded by Doris Day in 1951 and was a big hit for her. Another charting version was recorded by the Billy Williams Quartet.The recording by Doris Day was released by Columbia Records as catalog number 39423, with...
" w.m. Bob HilliardBob HilliardBob Hilliard was an American lyricist. He wrote the words for the songs; "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning", "Any Day Now", "Dear Hearts and Gentle People", "Our Day Will Come", "My Little Corner of the World", and "Seven Little Girls ".-Career:Born in New York City, New York, and after...
& Milton De Lugg - "Shrimp BoatsShrimp Boats"Shrimp Boats" was a popular song in the 1950s.It was written by Paul Mason Howard and Paul Weston and published in 1951.Charting versions were recorded by Jo Stafford and Dolores Gray. It was also recorded by Claude Gray in 1963, and by Pete Fountain, Abdullah Ibrahim, The Orioles, and Buddy Tate...
" w.m. Paul Mason Howard & Paul WestonPaul WestonPaul Weston was an American pianist, arranger, composer and conductor. Weston was born Paul Wetstein in Springfield, Massachusetts... - "(It's No) Sin(It's No) Sin" Sin" is a 1951 popular song with music by George Hoven and lyrics by Chester R. Shull. Popular recordings of the song were made by The Four Aces and Eddy Howard....
" w. Chester R. Shull m. George Hoven - "Slow PokeSlow Poke"Slow Poke" is a popular song. It is credited to three writers: Pee Wee King, Redd Stewart, and Chilton Price. Actually Price wrote the song in 1951, as she thought the song described her friend, King, very well. King recorded the song and Stewart did the vocal...
" w.m. Pee Wee KingPee Wee KingJulius Frank Anthony Kuczynski , known professionally as Pee Wee King, was an American country music songwriter and recording artist best known for co-writing "The Tennessee Waltz"....
, Redd StewartRedd StewartHenry Ellis Stewart , better known as Redd Stewart, was an American country music songwriter and recording artist who co-wrote "The Tennessee Waltz" with Pee Wee King in 1948.-Biography:...
& Chilton PriceChilton PriceChilton Price was a songwriter, primarily known for country music songs which became pop music hits as well.... - "So Far, So Good" w. Betty Comden & Adolph Green m. Jule Styne from the revue Two On The AisleTwo on the AisleTwo on the Aisle is a musical revue with a book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green and music by Jule Styne.The project marked Comden and Green's return to Broadway following their successful reign at MGM and their first teaming with composer Styne...
- "Something WonderfulSomething Wonderful (song)"Something Wonderful" is a show tune from the 1951 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The King and I.The song was first sung in the original Broadway production by Dorothy Sarnoff, who played Lady Thiang. Later, in the 1956 film adaptation starring Deborah Kerr and Yul Brynner it was sung by Terry...
" w. Oscar Hammerstein IIOscar Hammerstein IIOscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II was an American librettist, theatrical producer, and theatre director of musicals for almost forty years. Hammerstein won eight Tony Awards and was twice awarded an Academy Award for "Best Original Song". Many of his songs are standard repertoire for...
m. Richard RodgersRichard RodgersRichard Charles Rodgers was an American composer of music for more than 900 songs and for 43 Broadway musicals. He also composed music for films and television. He is best known for his songwriting partnerships with the lyricists Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II... - "Sound Off" w.m. Willie Lee Duckworth, B. Lentz
- "Sparrow In The Tree Top" w.m. Bob MerrillBob MerrillBob Merrill was an American songwriter, theatrical composer, lyricist, and screenwriter.Merrill was born Henry Merrill Levan in Atlantic City, New Jersey and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Following a stint with the Army during World War II, he moved to Hollywood, where he worked as a...
- "Suzy Snowflake" w.m. Sid TepperSid TepperSid Tepper is an American songwriter, best known for his collaborations with Roy C. Bennett, which spawned several hits for Elvis Presley. Between 1945 and 1970, Tepper and Bennett published over 300 songs.-Biography:...
& Roy C. BennettRoy C. BennettRoy C. Bennett is an American songwriter known for the songs he wrote with Sid Tepper, which spawned several hits for Elvis Presley... - "Sweet VioletsSweet Violets"Sweet Violets" is a surprising humorous lyrics. The song consists mainly of couplets, except that the last word of each couplet, which can generally be inferred from a combination of context and the ostensible rhyming scheme, is instead cut off by the start of the next couplet or by the...
" arr. Cy CobenCy CobenCyrus "Cy" Coben was an American songwriter whose hits were recorded by bandleaders, country singers, The Beatles, and even Leonard Nimoy....
& Charles Grean - "Tell Me WhyTell Me Why (1951 song)"Tell Me Why" is a popular song written by Marty Gold with the lyrics by Al Alberts. The song was published in 1951.-Major recorded versions:The hit version of the song was recorded by Alberts' group, The Four Aces, in 1951...
" w. Al AlbertsAl AlbertsAl Alberts was a popular singer and composer. -Biography:Born Al Albertini in Chester, Pennsylvania, he went to South Philadelphia High School, whose alumni included many others who would become famous in show business, such as Joey Bishop, Buddy Greco, Al Martino, Mario Lanza, Chubby Checker,...
m. Marty GoldMarty GoldMartin Gold was a composer, pianist, and bandleader born in New York City, New York. He was the pianist and arranger for the Korn Kobblers, a popular 1940s novelty group billed as "America's most nonsensical dance band", but was probably best known as the composer of the song "Tell Me Why", which... - "They Call The Wind MariaThey Call the Wind Maria"They Call the Wind Maria" is an American popular song with lyrics written by Alan J. Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe for their 1951 Broadway musical, Paint Your Wagon, which is set in the California Gold Rush. Rufus Smith originally sang the song on Broadway, and Joseph Leader was the...
" w. Alan Jay LernerAlan Jay LernerAlan Jay Lerner was an American lyricist and librettist. In collaboration with Frederick Loewe, he created some of the world's most popular and enduring works of musical theatre for both the stage and on film...
m. Frederick Loewe. Introduced in the musical Paint Your WagonPaint Your WagonPaint Your Wagon is a Broadway musical comedy, with book and lyrics by Alan J. Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story centers around a miner and his daughter and follows the lives and loves of the people in a mining camp in Gold Rush-era California. Popular songs from the show included...
by Rufus SmithRufus SmithRufus Smith was a physician and politician in the British colonial Province of New Brunswick, Canada.... - "The Thrill Is Gone" w.m. Rick Darnell & Roy HawkinsRoy HawkinsRoy Hawkins was an American pianist, songwriter and blues musician. After working in clubs and recording unsuccessful singles, he broke through with his song "Why Do Everything Happen to Me?," inspired by an auto accident which paralyzed his right arm.-Career:Little is known of Hawkins' early days...
- "Thumbelina" w.m. Frank LoesserFrank LoesserFrank Henry Loesser was an American songwriter who wrote the lyrics and scores to the Broadway hits Guys and Dolls and How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, among others. He won separate Tony Awards for the music and lyrics in both shows, as well as sharing the Pulitzer Prize for...
- "Too YoungToo Young"Too Young" is a popular song.The music was written by Sidney Lippman, the lyrics by Sylvia Dee. The song was published in 1951.In the United States, the best-known version of the song was recorded by Nat King Cole on February 6, 1951 and released by Capitol Records as catalog number 1449...
" w. Sylvia DeeSylvia DeeSylvia Dee was an American songwriter and novelist best known for penning the lyrics to "Too Young", a hit for Nat King Cole, and "The End of the World", a hit for Skeeter Davis...
m. Sidney LippmanSidney LippmanSidney Lippman was a composer and songwriter.He wrote the music for Nat King Cole's 1951 No. 1 hit "Too Young". He died at a nursing home in North Bergen, New Jersey. He was 89 and had lived in Fort Lee, New Jersey.... - "Top Banana" w.m. Johnny MercerJohnny MercerJohn Herndon "Johnny" Mercer was an American lyricist, songwriter and singer. He is best known as a lyricist, but he also composed music. He was also a popular singer who recorded his own songs as well as those written by others...
from the musical Top Banana (musical)Top Banana (musical)Top Banana is a musical with music and lyrics by Johnny Mercer and book by Hy Kraft which premiered on Broadway in 1951. Comedian Phil Silvers starred, and won the Tony Award in 1952.-Production:... - "The Typewriter" m. Leroy AndersonLeroy AndersonLeroy Anderson was an American composer of short, light concert pieces, many of which were introduced by the Boston Pops Orchestra under the direction of Arthur Fiedler...
- "UnforgettableUnforgettable (song)"Unforgettable" is a popular song written by Irving Gordon. The song's original working title was "Uncomparable". The music publishing company asked Irving to change it to "Unforgettable". The song was published in 1951....
" w.m. Irving GordonIrving GordonIrving Gordon was an American songwriter.-Biography:Irving Gordon was born in Brooklyn, New York. As a child, he studied violin, and after attending public schools in New York City, went to work in the Catskill Mountains at some of the resort hotels in the area... - "VanityVanity (song)"Vanity" is a popular song.The music was written by Guy Wood, the lyrics by Jack Manus and Bernard Bierman. The song was published in 1951. It had some success on the charts, reaching the top 20, in 1951 and was recorded by Don Cherry, who had recorded the hit version, for his 1968 album, There...
" w. Jack Manus & Bernard BiermanBernard BiermanBernard Bierman is an American composer of popular songs. He was born in New York City.He studied pre-law and law at NYU and Brooklyn Law School, passing the bar in 1930. He practised law until 1942 when he joined the U.S...
m. Guy WoodGuy WoodGuy B Wood was a musician and composer of songs. He was born in Manchester, England and moved to the United States in the 1930s... - "Very Good Advice" w. Bob HilliardBob HilliardBob Hilliard was an American lyricist. He wrote the words for the songs; "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning", "Any Day Now", "Dear Hearts and Gentle People", "Our Day Will Come", "My Little Corner of the World", and "Seven Little Girls ".-Career:Born in New York City, New York, and after...
m. Sammy FainSammy FainSammy Fain was an American composer of popular music.-Biography:Sammy Fain was born in New York City. In 1923, Fain appeared with Artie Dunn in a short film directed by Lee De Forest filmed in DeForest's Phonofilm sound-on-film process. In 1925, Fain left the Fain-Dunn act to devote himself to... - "A Very Merry Un-Birthday To You" w.m. Mack DavidMack DavidMack David was an American lyricist and songwriter, best known for his work in film and television, with a career spanning from the early 1940s through the early 1970s. Mack was credited with writing lyrics and/or music for over one thousand songs...
, Al HoffmanAl HoffmanAl Hoffman , a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame since 1984, was a hit songwriter active in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, usually co-writing with others and responsible for number one hits through each decade, many of which are still sung and recorded today...
& Jerry LivingstonJerry LivingstonJerry Livingston was an American songwriter, and dance orchestra pianist.-Biography:... - "Wand'rin' Star" w. Alan Jay LernerAlan Jay LernerAlan Jay Lerner was an American lyricist and librettist. In collaboration with Frederick Loewe, he created some of the world's most popular and enduring works of musical theatre for both the stage and on film...
m. Frederick Loewe. Introduced by Rufus SmithRufus SmithRufus Smith was a physician and politician in the British colonial Province of New Brunswick, Canada....
, Robert PennRobert PennRobert Penn was a United States Navy sailor and a recipient of America's highest military decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions during the Spanish-American War.-Biography:...
and Jared Reed in the musical Paint Your WagonPaint Your WagonPaint Your Wagon is a Broadway musical comedy, with book and lyrics by Alan J. Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story centers around a miner and his daughter and follows the lives and loves of the people in a mining camp in Gold Rush-era California. Popular songs from the show included...
. - "We Kiss In A ShadowWe Kiss in a Shadow"We Kiss in a Shadow" is a show tune from the 1951 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, The King and I.In this song, Tuptim and Lun Tha declare their love for each other, even though they fear that the King of Siam would know about it....
" w. Oscar Hammerstein IIOscar Hammerstein IIOscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II was an American librettist, theatrical producer, and theatre director of musicals for almost forty years. Hammerstein won eight Tony Awards and was twice awarded an Academy Award for "Best Original Song". Many of his songs are standard repertoire for...
m. Richard RodgersRichard RodgersRichard Charles Rodgers was an American composer of music for more than 900 songs and for 43 Broadway musicals. He also composed music for films and television. He is best known for his songwriting partnerships with the lyricists Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II... - "When The World Was Young" w. (Eng) Johnny MercerJohnny MercerJohn Herndon "Johnny" Mercer was an American lyricist, songwriter and singer. He is best known as a lyricist, but he also composed music. He was also a popular singer who recorded his own songs as well as those written by others...
(Fr) Angela Vannier m. M. Philippe-Gerard - "Wonderful Copenhagen" w.m. Frank LoesserFrank LoesserFrank Henry Loesser was an American songwriter who wrote the lyrics and scores to the Broadway hits Guys and Dolls and How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, among others. He won separate Tony Awards for the music and lyrics in both shows, as well as sharing the Pulitzer Prize for...
- "Would I Love You (Love You, Love You)Would I Love You (Love You, Love You)"Would I Love You " is a popular song with music by Harold Spina and lyrics by Bob Russell. It was published in 1950.It was popularized by Patti Page in a recording made on January 2, 1951. The recording was issued by Mercury Records as catalog number 5571, and first reached the Billboard chart on...
" w. Bob RussellBob Russell (songwriter)Sidney Keith "Bob" Russell, was an American songwriter born in Passaic, New Jersey.In 1968, Russell along with songwriting partner Quincy Jones was nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Original Song category...
m. Harold SpinaHarold SpinaHarold Spina was an American composer of popular songs. His best-known work happened in the early 1930s, when he collaborated with lyricists Johnny Burke and Joe Young on songs such as "Annie Doesn't Live Here Anymore", "You're Not the Only Oyster in the Stew", "My Very Good Friend the Milkman" ,...
Classical music
- Malcolm ArnoldMalcolm ArnoldSir Malcolm Henry Arnold, CBE was an English composer and symphonist.Malcolm Arnold began his career playing trumpet professionally, but by age thirty his life was devoted to composition. He was ranked with Benjamin Britten as one of the most sought-after composers in Britain...
– English DancesEnglish DancesEnglish Dances for Orchestra, Opp. 27 and 33, are two sets of light music pieces, composed by Malcolm Arnold in 1950 and 1951 . Each set consists of four dances inspired by, although not based upon, country folk tunes and dances...
for Orchestra, op. 33 - Pierre BoulezPierre BoulezPierre Boulez is a French composer of contemporary classical music, a pianist, and a conductor.-Early years:Boulez was born in Montbrison, Loire, France. As a child he began piano lessons and demonstrated aptitude in both music and mathematics...
– Polyphonie XPolyphonie XPolyphonie X is a composition by Pierre Boulez for eighteen instruments divided into seven groups, written in 1950–51. It is in three movements.It is one of the first works of Boulez's total serial period... - John CageJohn CageJohn Milton Cage Jr. was an American composer, music theorist, writer, philosopher and artist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading figures of the post-war avant-garde...
– Imaginary Landscape No. 4 - Elliott CarterElliott CarterElliott Cook Carter, Jr. is a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning American composer born and living in New York City. He studied with Nadia Boulanger in Paris in the 1930s, and then returned to the United States. After a neoclassical phase, he went on to write atonal, rhythmically complex music...
– String Quartet No. 1 - George CrumbGeorge CrumbGeorge Crumb is an American composer of contemporary classical music. He is noted as an explorer of unusual timbres, alternative forms of notation, and extended instrumental and vocal techniques. Examples include seagull effect for the cello , metallic vibrato for the piano George Crumb (born...
– Prelude and Toccata for piano - Mario DavidovskyMario DavidovskyMario Davidovsky is an Argentine-American composer. Born in Argentina, he emigrated in 1960 to the US, where he lives today...
– String Quartet No. 1 - Henri DutilleuxHenri DutilleuxHenri Dutilleux is one of the most important French composers of the second half of the 20th century, producing work in the tradition of Maurice Ravel, Claude Debussy, and Albert Roussel, but in a style distinctly his own...
– Symphony No. 1 - George EnescuGeorge EnescuGeorge Enescu was a Romanian composer, violinist, pianist, conductor and teacher.-Biography:Enescu was born in the village of Liveni , Dorohoi County at the time, today Botoşani County. He showed musical talent from early in his childhood. A child prodigy, Enescu created his first musical...
– String Quartet No. 2 - Morton FeldmanMorton FeldmanMorton Feldman was an American composer, born in New York City.A major figure in 20th century music, Feldman was a pioneer of indeterminate music, a development associated with the experimental New York School of composers also including John Cage, Christian Wolff, and Earle Brown...
– Structures - Howard FergusonHoward FergusonGeorge Howard Ferguson, PC was a Conservative politician and the ninth Premier of Ontario, Canada, from 1923 to 1930.-Background:He was the son of Charles Frederick Ferguson who served in the Canadian House of Commons...
– Piano Concerto in D - Gerald FinziGerald FinziGerald Raphael Finzi was a British composer. Finzi is best known as a song-writer, but also wrote in other genres...
– All This Night - Lukas FossLukas FossLukas Foss was a German-born American composer, conductor, and pianist.-Music career:He was born Lukas Fuchs in Berlin, Germany in 1922. His father was the philosopher and scholar Martin Fuchs...
– Piano Concerto No. 2 - Roberto GerhardRoberto GerhardRobert Gerhard i Ottenwaelder was a Catalan Spanish composer and musical scholar and writer, generally known outside Catalonia as Robert Gerhard.-Life:...
– Concerto for Piano and Orchestra - Reinhold GlièreReinhold GlièreReinhold Moritzevich Glière was a Russian and Soviet composer of German–Polish descent.- Biography :Glière was born in Kiev, Ukraine...
– Concerto for Horn and Orchestra - Vagn HolmboeVagn HolmboeVagn Gylding Holmboe was a Danish composer and teacher who wrote largely in a neo-classical style.-Life:At the age of 16, Holmboe began formal music training at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen on the recommendation of Carl Nielsen. He studied under Knud Jeppesen and Finn Høffding...
– Symphony No. 8 - Gordon JacobGordon JacobGordon Percival Septimus Jacob was an English composer. He is known for his wind instrument composition and his instructional writings.-Life:...
– Concerto for Flute and Strings - György LigetiGyörgy LigetiGyörgy Sándor Ligeti was a composer of contemporary classical music. Born in a Hungarian Jewish family in Transylvania, Romania, he briefly lived in Hungary before becoming an Austrian citizen.-Early life:...
– Concert românesc for Orchestra - Peter MenninPeter MenninPeter Mennin was an American composer and teacher. He directed the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, then for many years ran the Juilliard School, succeeding William Schuman in this role...
– String Quartet No. 2 - Vincent PersichettiVincent PersichettiVincent Ludwig Persichetti was an American composer, teacher, and pianist. An important musical educator and writer, Persichetti was a native of Philadelphia...
– Symphony No. 4 completed - Allan PetterssonAllan PetterssonGustav Allan Pettersson was a Swedish composer. Today he is considered one of the most important Swedish composers of the 20th century...
– Seven Sonatas for Two Violins - Joseph Guy RopartzJoseph Guy RopartzJoseph Guy Marie Ropartz was a French composer and conductor. His compositions included five symphonies, three violin sonatas, cello sonatas, six string quartets, a piano trio and string trio , stage works, a number of choral works and other music including a Prélude, Marine et Chansons for...
– String Quartet No. 6 in F - Edmund RubbraEdmund RubbraEdmund Rubbra was a British composer. He composed both instrumental and vocal works for soloists, chamber groups and full choruses and orchestras. He was greatly esteemed by fellow musicians and was at the peak of his fame in the mid-20th century. The most famous of his pieces are his eleven...
– String Quartet No. 2 in E-flat Op. 73 - Mátyás SeiberMátyás SeiberMátyás György Seiber was a Hungarian-born composer who lived and worked in England from 1935 onward.-Career:Seiber was born in Budapest, and studied there with Zoltán Kodály, with whom he toured Hungary collecting folk songs. In 1928, he became director of the jazz department at the Hoch...
– Concertino for Clarinet and String Orchestra - Roger SessionsRoger SessionsRoger Huntington Sessions was an American composer, critic, and teacher of music.-Life:Sessions was born in Brooklyn, New York, to a family that could trace its roots back to the American revolution. His mother, Ruth Huntington Sessions, was a direct descendent of Samuel Huntington, a signer of...
– String Quartet No. 2 - Dmitri ShostakovichDmitri ShostakovichDmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich was a Soviet Russian composer and one of the most celebrated composers of the 20th century....
– Twenty-Four Preludes and Fugues for Piano op. 87 finished - Karlheinz StockhausenKarlheinz StockhausenKarlheinz Stockhausen was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries. Another critic calls him "one of the great visionaries of 20th-century music"...
– KreuzspielKreuzspielKreuzspiel is a composition by Karlheinz Stockhausen written for oboe, bass clarinet, piano and four percussionists in 1951 .... - Eduard TubinEduard Tubin-Life:Tubin was born in Torila, Governorate of Livonia, Estonia. Both his parents were music lovers, and his father played trumpet and trombone in the village band. His first taste of music came at school where he learned flute and balalaika. Later, his father swapped a cow for a piano, and the...
– Sonata for Alto Saxophone and Piano - Heitor Villa-LobosHeitor Villa-LobosHeitor Villa-Lobos was a Brazilian composer, described as "the single most significant creative figure in 20th-century Brazilian art music". Villa-Lobos has become the best-known and most significant Latin American composer to date. He wrote numerous orchestral, chamber, instrumental and vocal works...
– Concerto for Guitar and Orchestra
OperaOperaOpera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
- Benjamin BrittenBenjamin BrittenEdward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He showed talent from an early age, and first came to public attention with the a cappella choral work A Boy Was Born in 1934. With the premiere of his opera Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to...
– Billy BuddBilly Budd (opera)Billy Budd is an opera by Benjamin Britten, from a libretto by E. M. Forster and Eric Crozier, was first performed at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London on 1 December 1951. It is based on the short novel Billy Budd by Herman Melville....
, with libretto by E. M. ForsterE. M. ForsterEdward Morgan Forster OM, CH was an English novelist, short story writer, essayist and librettist. He is known best for his ironic and well-plotted novels examining class difference and hypocrisy in early 20th-century British society...
and Eric CrozierEric CrozierEric Crozier was a British theatrical director and opera librettist, long associated with Benjamin Britten.... - Paul DessauPaul DessauPaul Dessau was a German composer and conductor.- Biography :Dessau was born in Hamburg into a musical family...
– The Trial of LucullusThe Trial of LucullusThe Trial of Lucullus is a short didactic radio play by the German dramatist Bertolt Brecht written in verse. In it, the great Roman general Lucullus appears after death before a judge and jury of the underworld, who are to decide whether he should be condemned to Hades or admitted to the Elysian...
, with libretto by Bertolt BrechtBertolt BrechtBertolt Brecht was a German poet, playwright, and theatre director.An influential theatre practitioner of the 20th century, Brecht made equally significant contributions to dramaturgy and theatrical production, the latter particularly through the seismic impact of the tours undertaken by the...
(March 18, Berlin), despite rumours that the work would be forbidden by the East German authorities. - Marcel LandowskiMarcel LandowskiMarcel François Paul Landowski was a French composer, biographer and arts administrator.Born at Pont-l'Abbé, Finistère, Brittany, he was the son of French sculptor Paul Landowski and great-grandson of the composer Henri Vieuxtemps.As an infant he showed early musical promise, and studied piano...
– Le Rire de Nils Halerius - Gian-Carlo Menotti – Amahl and the Night VisitorsAmahl and the Night VisitorsAmahl and the Night Visitors is an opera in one act by Gian Carlo Menotti with an original English libretto by the composer. It was commissioned by NBC and first performed by the NBC Opera Theatre on December 24, 1951, in New York City at NBC studio 8H in Rockefeller Center, where it was broadcast...
- Igor StravinskyIgor StravinskyIgor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ; 6 April 1971) was a Russian, later naturalized French, and then naturalized American composer, pianist, and conductor....
– The Rake's ProgressThe Rake's ProgressThe Rake's Progress is an opera in three acts and an epilogue by Igor Stravinsky. The libretto, written by W. H. Auden and Chester Kallman, is based loosely on the eight paintings and engravings A Rake's Progress of William Hogarth, which Stravinsky had seen on May 2, 1947, in a Chicago...
, with libretto by W. H. AudenW. H. AudenWystan Hugh Auden , who published as W. H. Auden, was an Anglo-American poet,The first definition of "Anglo-American" in the OED is: "Of, belonging to, or involving both England and America." See also the definition "English in origin or birth, American by settlement or citizenship" in See also...
and Chester KallmanChester KallmanChester Simon Kallman was an American poet, librettist, and translator, best known for his collaborations with W. H. Auden and Igor Stravinsky.-Life:... - Ralph Vaughan WilliamsRalph Vaughan WilliamsRalph Vaughan Williams OM was an English composer of symphonies, chamber music, opera, choral music, and film scores. He was also a collector of English folk music and song: this activity both influenced his editorial approach to the English Hymnal, beginning in 1904, in which he included many...
– The Pilgrim's Progress
Musical theater
- And So To Bed (Vivian EllisVivian EllisVivian Ellis was an English musical comedy composer best known for the song "Spread a Little Happiness" and the theme "Coronation Scot".-Life and work:...
) London production opened at the New TheatreNoël Coward TheatreThe Noël Coward Theatre, formerly known as the Albery Theatre, is a West End theatre on St. Martin's Lane in the City of Westminster. It opened on 12 March 1903 as the New Theatre and was built by Sir Charles Wyndham behind Wyndham's Theatre which was completed in 1899. The building was designed by...
on October 17 and ran for 323 performances - Borscht Capades
- FlahooleyFlahooleyFlahooley is a musical with a book by E. Y. Harburg and Fred Saidy, lyrics by Harburg, and music by Sammy Fain.The allegorical tale is set in fictional Capsulanti, USA, site of the headquarters for B.G. Bigelow, Incorporated, the largest toy corporation in the world...
Broadway production - Gay's The Word London production opened at the Saville TheatreSaville TheatreThe Saville Theatre is a former West End theatre at 135 Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster. The theatre opened in 1931, and became a music venue during the 1960s, finally being converted to a cinema in 1970.-Theatre years:...
on February 16 and ran for 504 performances - The King And IThe King and IThe King and I is a stage musical, the fifth by the team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. The work is based on the 1944 novel Anna and the King of Siam by Margaret Landon and derives from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, who became governess to the children of King Mongkut of Siam in...
(Richard RodgersRichard RodgersRichard Charles Rodgers was an American composer of music for more than 900 songs and for 43 Broadway musicals. He also composed music for films and television. He is best known for his songwriting partnerships with the lyricists Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II...
and Oscar Hammerstein IIOscar Hammerstein IIOscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II was an American librettist, theatrical producer, and theatre director of musicals for almost forty years. Hammerstein won eight Tony Awards and was twice awarded an Academy Award for "Best Original Song". Many of his songs are standard repertoire for...
) – Broadway production - Kiss Me, KateKiss Me, KateKiss Me, Kate is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. It is structured as a play within a play, where the interior play is a musical version of William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew. The original production starred Alfred Drake, Patricia Morison, Lisa Kirk and Harold Lang.Kiss...
(Cole PorterCole PorterCole Albert Porter was an American composer and songwriter. Born to a wealthy family in Indiana, he defied the wishes of his domineering grandfather and took up music as a profession. Classically trained, he was drawn towards musical theatre...
) – London production opened at the Coliseum on March 8 and ran for 501 performances - The Lyric Revue London production
- Make A Wish Broadway production opened at the Winter Garden TheatreWinter Garden TheatreThe Winter Garden Theatre is a Broadway theatre located at 1634 Broadway in midtown Manhattan.-History:The structure was built by William Kissam Vanderbilt in 1896 to be the American Horse Exchange....
on April 18 and ran for 102 performances - A Month Of SundaysA Month of SundaysA Month of Sundays was a Canadian film anthology television miniseries which aired on CBC Television in 1981.-Premise:Each episode consisted of various films according to a theme, as hosted by Harry Brown.-Episodes:...
Broadway production - Oklahoma!Oklahoma!Oklahoma! is the first musical written by composer Richard Rodgers and librettist Oscar Hammerstein II. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs' 1931 play, Green Grow the Lilacs. Set in Oklahoma Territory outside the town of Claremore in 1906, it tells the story of cowboy Curly McLain and his romance...
first German production (Berlin) - Paint Your Wagon (Alan Jay LernerAlan Jay LernerAlan Jay Lerner was an American lyricist and librettist. In collaboration with Frederick Loewe, he created some of the world's most popular and enduring works of musical theatre for both the stage and on film...
and Frederick Loewe) – Broadway production opened at the Shubert TheatreShubert Theatre (Broadway)The Shubert Theatre is a Broadway theatre located at 225 West 44th Street in midtown-Manhattan, New York, United States.Designed by architect Henry Beaumont Herts, it was named after Sam S. Shubert, the second oldest of the three brothers of the theatrical producing family...
on November 12 and ran for 289 performances - Penny Plain London production
- See You LaterSee You LaterSee You Later is a 1980 album by the Greek artist Vangelis. It breaks quite violently with the style he had employed in the late 1970s, relying much more on vocals and being more experimental and returning to his early 1970s work....
(Sandy WilsonSandy WilsonSandy Wilson is an English composer and lyricist, best known for his musical The Boy Friend .-Biography:Wilson was born Alexander Galbraith Wilson in Sale, Greater Manchester, and was educated at Harrow School and Oriel College, Oxford. During the war he served in the Royal Ordnance Corps in Great...
) London production opened at the Watergate Theatre on October 3. - Seventeen Broadway production opened at the Broadhurst TheatreBroadhurst TheatreThe Broadhurst Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre located at 235 West 44th Street in midtown Manhattan.It was designed by architect Herbert J. Krapp, a well-known theatre designer who had been working directly with the Shubert brothers; the Broadhurst opened 27 September 1917...
on June 21 and ran for 182 performances - South PacificSouth Pacific (musical)South Pacific is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and book by Hammerstein and Joshua Logan. The story draws from James A. Michener's Pulitzer Prize-winning 1947 book Tales of the South Pacific, weaving together characters and elements from several of its...
(Rodgers & Hammerstein) – London production - Top BananaTop Banana (musical)Top Banana is a musical with music and lyrics by Johnny Mercer and book by Hy Kraft which premiered on Broadway in 1951. Comedian Phil Silvers starred, and won the Tony Award in 1952.-Production:...
Broadway production opened at the Winter Garden TheatreWinter Garden TheatreThe Winter Garden Theatre is a Broadway theatre located at 1634 Broadway in midtown Manhattan.-History:The structure was built by William Kissam Vanderbilt in 1896 to be the American Horse Exchange....
on November 1 and ran for 350 performances. - A Tree Grows in BrooklynA Tree Grows in Brooklyn (musical)A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is a musical with a book by George Abbott and Betty Smith, lyrics by Dorothy Fields, and music by Arthur Schwartz....
Broadway production opened at the Alvin Theatre on April 19 and ran for 267 performances - Two On The AisleTwo on the AisleTwo on the Aisle is a musical revue with a book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green and music by Jule Styne.The project marked Comden and Green's return to Broadway following their successful reign at MGM and their first teaming with composer Styne...
Broadway production opened at the Mark Hellinger TheatreMark Hellinger TheatreThe Mark Hellinger Theatre is a generally used name of a former legitimate Broadway theater, located at 237 West 51st Street in midtown Manhattan, New York City. Since 1991, it has been known as the Times Square Church...
on July 19 and ran for 279 performances - Zip Goes A MillionZip Goes a MillionZip Goes a Million is a musical with a book and lyrics by Eric Maschwitz and music by George Posford, based on the 1902 novel Brewster's Millions. It premiered in London in 1951, starring George Formby, and ran for 544 performances.-Synopsis:Act I...
London production opened at the Palace TheatrePalace Theatre, LondonThe Palace Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster in London. It is an imposing red-brick building that dominates the west side of Cambridge Circus and is located near the intersection of Shaftesbury Avenue and Charing Cross Road...
on October 20 and ran for 544 performances
Musical filmMusical filmThe musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
s
- Alice In WonderlandAlice in Wonderland (1951 film)Alice in Wonderland is a 1951 American animated feature produced by Walt Disney and based primarily on Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland with a few additional elements from Through the Looking-Glass. Thirteenth in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, the film was released in New...
- An American In ParisAn American in Paris (film)An American in Paris is a 1951 MGM musical film inspired by the 1928 orchestral composition by George Gershwin. Starring Gene Kelly, Leslie Caron, Oscar Levant, Georges Guetary, and Nina Foch, the film is set in Paris, and was directed by Vincente Minnelli from a script by Alan Jay Lerner...
starring Gene KellyGene KellyEugene Curran "Gene" Kelly was an American dancer, actor, singer, film director and producer, and choreographer...
, Leslie CaronLeslie CaronLeslie Claire Margaret Caron is a French film actress and dancer, who appeared in 45 films between 1951 and 2003. In 2006, her performance in Law and Order: Special Victims Unit won her an Emmy for guest actress in a drama series...
, Oscar LevantOscar LevantOscar Levant was an American pianist, composer, author, comedian, and actor. He was more famous for his mordant character and witticisms, on the radio and in movies and television, than for his music.-Life and career:...
, Georges GuétaryGeorges GuétaryGeorges Guétary, born Lambros Worloou was a French singer, dancer, cabaret performer and film actor, best known his role in the 1951 musical An American in Paris.-Early life and career:...
and Nina FochNina FochNina Foch was a Dutch-born American actress and leading lady in many 1940s and 1950s films.- Personal life :... - Call Me MisterCall Me MisterCall Me Mister is a revue with sketches by Arnold Auerbach and words and music by Harold Rome. The title refers to returning soldiers who expected to be addressed as civilians instead of by their military rank....
starring Betty GrableBetty GrableElizabeth Ruth "Betty" Grable was an American actress, dancer and singer.Her iconic bathing suit photo made her the number-one pin-up girl of the World War II era. It was later included in the LIFE magazine project "100 Photos that Changed the World"...
and Dan DaileyDan DaileyDaniel James Dailey Jr. was an American dancer and actor.-Early life and career:Born in New York City on December 14, 1915, to James J. and Helen Dailey, both born in New York City. He appeared in a minstrel show when very young, and appeared in vaudeville before his Broadway debut in 1937 in... - Excuse My DustExcuse My DustExcuse My Dust is a 1920 silent film action comedy produced by Famous Players-Lasky and distributed by Paramount Pictures. It is taken from a Saturday Evening Post short story The Bear Trap by Byron Morgan, who penned stories for the previous year's The Roaring Road. Sam Wood directed Wallace Reid...
starring Red SkeltonRed SkeltonRichard Bernard "Red" Skelton was an American comedian who is best known as a top radio and television star from 1937 to 1971. Skelton's show business career began in his teens as a circus clown and went on to vaudeville, Broadway, films, radio, TV, night clubs and casinos, all while pursuing...
, Monica Lewis, Sally ForrestSally ForrestSally Forrest , is a retired American film actress of the 1940s and 1950s.She began her film career as a dancer in films in the 1940s before moving on to small film roles. After meeting director Ida Lupino, she was cast in a few of her films including Not Wanted and Hard Fast and Beautiful...
, Macdonald CareyMacdonald CareyEdward Macdonald Carey was an American actor, best known for his role as the patriarch Dr. Tom Horton on NBC's soap opera Days of our Lives...
and William DemarestWilliam DemarestCarl William Demarest was an American character actor. He frequently played crusty but good-hearted roles.-Early life and career:...
. Dirested by Roy RowlandRoy Rowland (film director)Roy Rowland was a film director. The New York-born director helmed a number of films in the 1950s and 60s including Our Vines Have Tender Grapes, Meet Me in Las Vegas, Rogue Cop, The 5000 Fingers of Doctor T and The Girl Hunters. Rowland married Ruth Cummings, the niece of Louis B...
. - The Great CarusoThe Great CarusoThe Great Caruso is a 1951 biographical film made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed by Richard Thorpe and produced by Joe Pasternak with Jesse L. Lasky as associate producer from a screenplay by Sonya Levien and William Ludwig. The original music was by Johnny Green and the cinematography by...
- Here Comes The GroomHere Comes the GroomHere Comes the Groom is a 1951 musical romantic comedy film starring Bing Crosby and Jane Wyman. Directed and produced by Frank Capra, the film was released by Paramount Pictures.-Plot:...
released September 20 starring Bing CrosbyBing CrosbyHarry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
and Jane WymanJane WymanJane Wyman was an American singer, dancer, and character actress of film and television. She began her film career in the 1930s, and was a prolific performer for two decades...
. - The Lemon Drop KidThe Lemon Drop KidThe Lemon Drop Kid is a 1951 comedy film based on the short story of the same name by Damon Runyon, starring Bob Hope and Marilyn Maxwell, and directed by Sidney Lanfield.The song "Silver Bells," sung by Hope and Maxwell, was introduced in the film...
starring Bob HopeBob HopeBob Hope, KBE, KCSG, KSS was a British-born American comedian and actor who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in radio, television and movies. He was also noted for his work with the US Armed Forces and his numerous USO shows entertaining American military personnel...
and Marilyn MaxwellMarilyn MaxwellMarilyn Maxwell , born Marvel Marilyn Maxwell, was an American actress and entertainer.Noted for her blonde hair and sexually alluring persona, she appeared in several films and radio programs, and entertained the troops during World War II and the Korean War on USO tours with Bob Hope.-Career:She...
. - Lullaby Of BroadwayLullaby of Broadway (film)Lullaby of Broadway is a musical romantic comedy film released by Warner Bros. in 1951. It starred Doris Day as Melinda Howard, an entertainer who travels to New York to see her mother, and Gene Nelson as Tom Farnham, a fellow entertainer and Melinda's love interest. Gladys George appears as...
starring Doris DayDoris DayDoris Day is an American actress, singer and, since her retirement from show business, an animal rights activist. With an entertainment career that spanned through almost 50 years, Day started her career as a big band singer in 1939, but only began to be noticed after her first hit recording,...
and Gene NelsonGene NelsonGene Nelson was an American dancer, actor, screenwriter, and director.-Biography:Born Leander Eugene Berg in Astoria, Oregon, he moved to Seattle when he was one year old. He was inspired to become a dancer by watching Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers films when he was a child... - Mr. ImperiumMr. ImperiumMr. Imperium is a 1951 romantic drama film made by MGM. It was directed by Don Hartman who co-wrote the screenplay with Edwin H. Knopf, based on a play by Edwin H. Knopf. The music score is by Bronisław Kaper....
starring Lana TurnerLana TurnerLana Turner was an American actress.Discovered and signed to a film contract by MGM at the age of sixteen, Turner first attracted attention in They Won't Forget . She played featured roles, often as the ingenue, in such films as Love Finds Andy Hardy...
and Ezio PinzaEzio PinzaEzio Pinza was an Italian basso opera singer with a rich, smooth and sonorous voice. He spent 22 seasons at New York's Metropolitan Opera, appearing in more than 750 performances of 50 operas... - On Moonlight BayOn Moonlight Bay (film)On Moonlight Bay is a 1951 musical film directed by Roy Del Ruth which tells the story of the Winfield family at the turn of the century. The movie is based loosely on the Penrod stories by Booth Tarkington. There was a 1953 sequel, By the Light of the Silvery Moon.-Plot:On Moonlight Bay centers on...
- On the RivieraOn the RivieraOn the Riviera is a 1951 musical comedy film made by 20th Century Fox. It was directed by Walter Lang, produced by Sol C. Siegel from a screenplay by Valentine Davies and Phoebe and Henry Ephron, based on the play The Red Cat by Rudolph Lothar and Hans Adler, with dance sequences choreographed and...
starring Danny KayeDanny KayeDanny Kaye was a celebrated American actor, singer, dancer, and comedian...
, Gene TierneyGene TierneyGene Eliza Tierney was an American film and stage actress. Acclaimed as one of the great beauties of her day, she is best remembered for her performance in the title role of Laura and her Academy Award-nominated performance for Best Actress in Leave Her to Heaven .Other notable roles include...
and Corinne CalvetCorinne CalvetCorinne Calvet was a French actress who appeared mostly in American films.Born Corinne Dibos in Paris, Calvet studied criminal law at the Sorbonne and made her debut in French radio, stage plays and cinema in the 1940s before being brought to Hollywood in the 1940s by producer Hal B. Wallis... - Purple Heart DiaryPurple Heart DiaryPurple Heart Diary is a 1951 drama film directed by Richard Quine. It stars Frances Langford and Judd Holdren.-Cast:*Frances Langford as Herself*Judd Holdren as Lt. Mike McCormick*Ben Lessy as Himself*Tony Romano as Himself...
starring Frances LangfordFrances LangfordJulia Frances Langford was an American singer and entertainer who was popular during the Golden Age of Radio and also made film appearances over two decades.-Birth:...
, Judd HoldrenJudd HoldrenJudd Holdren was an American film actor best known for his starring roles in the serials Captain Video: Master of the Stratosphere, Zombies of the Stratosphere, The Lost Planet and the semi-serial Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe during 1951 - 1953.- Early life :He was born near...
, Ben LessyBen LessyBen Lessy was an American television and film actor. He was born in New York, New York, United States.-Career:Lessy appeared in 32 films and television programs between 1951 and 1981...
and Tony Romano. Directed by Richard QuineRichard QuineRichard Quine was an American stage, film, and radio actor and film director.Quine was born in Detroit. He made his Broadway debut in the Jerome Kern/Oscar Hammerstein II musical Very Warm for May in 1939 and appeared in My Sister Eileen the following year...
. - Rich, Young and PrettyRich, Young and PrettyRich, Young and Pretty is a 1951 musical film produced by Joe Pasternak for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and directed by Norman Taurog. It was written by Dorothy Cooper and Sidney Sheldon, starred Jane Powell, Danielle Darrieux, Wendell Corey, and Fernando Lamas, and introduced Vic Damone...
starring Jane PowellJane PowellJane Powell is an American singer, dancer and actress.After rising to fame as a singer in her home state of Oregon, Powell was signed to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer while still in her teens...
, Danielle DarrieuxDanielle DarrieuxDanielle Yvonne Marie Antoinette Darrieux is a French actress and singer, who has appeared in more than 110 films since 1931. She is one of France's great movie stars and her eight-decade career is among the longest in film history....
, Wendell CoreyWendell CoreyWendell Reid Corey was an American actor and politician.He was born in Dracut, Massachusetts, the son of Milton Rothwell Corey and Julia Etta McKenney . His father was a Congregationalist clergyman...
, Vic DamoneVic DamoneVic Damone is an American singer and entertainer.- Early life :Damone was born Vito Rocco Farinola in Brooklyn, New York to French-Italian immigrants based in Bari, Italy—Rocco and Mamie Farinola. His father was an electrician; and his mother taught piano. His cousin was the actress and singer...
and Una MerkelUna MerkelUna Merkel was an American Tony Award-winning stage and film actress.-Life and career:Una Merkel was born in Covington, Kentucky, and grew up in Philadelphia and New York City. She bore a resemblance to actress Lillian Gish and began her career as a stand-in for Gish, most notably in the 1928... - Royal WeddingRoyal WeddingRoyal Wedding is a 1951 Hollywood musical comedy film known for Fred Astaire's dance performance on a ceiling and another with a coat rack. The story is set in London in 1947 at the time of the wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip, and stars Astaire, Jane Powell, Peter Lawford, Sarah...
starring Fred AstaireFred AstaireFred Astaire was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. His stage and subsequent film career spanned a total of 76 years, during which he made 31 musical films. He was named the fifth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute...
and Jane PowellJane PowellJane Powell is an American singer, dancer and actress.After rising to fame as a singer in her home state of Oregon, Powell was signed to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer while still in her teens... - Show BoatShow BoatShow Boat is a musical in two acts with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It was originally produced in New York in 1927 and in London in 1928, and was based on the 1926 novel of the same name by Edna Ferber. The plot chronicles the lives of those living and working...
- Slaughter TrailSlaughter TrailSlaughter Trail is a 1951 Cinecolor Western produced and directed by Irving Allen, filmed in Corriganville and released by RKO Pictures.-Plot:...
starring Brian DonlevyBrian DonlevyBrian Donlevy was an Irish-born American film actor, noted for playing tough guys from the 1930s to the 1960s. He usually appeared in supporting roles. Among his best known films are Beau Geste and The Great McGinty...
, Gig YoungGig YoungGig Young was an American film, stage, and television actor. Known mainly for second leads and supporting roles, Young won an Academy Award for his performance as a dance-marathon emcee in the 1969 film, They Shoot Horses, Don't They?.-Early life and career:Born Byron Elsworth Barr in St...
and Virginia GreyVirginia GreyVirginia Grey was an American actress.She was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of director Ray Grey. One of her early babysitters was movie star Gloria Swanson. Grey debuted at the age of ten in the silent film Uncle Tom's Cabin as Little Eva...
and featuring Terry GilkysonTerry GilkysonHamilton H. Gilkyson III , better known as Terry Gilkyson, was an American folk singer, composer, and lyricist.-Biography:...
and Rosemary ClooneyRosemary ClooneyRosemary Clooney was an American singer and actress. She came to prominence in the early 1950s with the novelty hit "Come On-a My House" written by William Saroyan and his cousin Ross Bagdasarian , which was followed by other pop numbers such as "Botch-a-Me" Rosemary Clooney (May 23, 1928 –... - The StripThe Strip (1951 film)The Strip is a 1951 film starring Mickey Rooney, Sally Forrest and William Demarest. It was directed by Leslie Kardos, photographed by Robert Surtees.-Plot:Stanley Maxton is a drummer in the rhythm section of a night club orchestra...
starring Mickey RooneyMickey RooneyMickey Rooney is an American film actor and entertainer whose film, television, and stage appearances span nearly his entire lifetime. He has won multiple awards, including an Honorary Academy Award, a Golden Globe and an Emmy Award...
and featuring Louis ArmstrongLouis ArmstrongLouis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana.... - Two Tickets to BroadwayTwo Tickets to BroadwayTwo Tickets to Broadway is a 1951 musical film directed by James V. Kern. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Sound Recording .-Cast:* Tony Martin as Dan Carter* Janet Leigh as Nancy Peterson* Gloria DeHaven as Hannah Holbrook...
released November 20 starring Janet LeighJanet LeighJanet Leigh , born Jeanette Helen Morrison, was an American actress. She was the wife of actor Tony Curtis from June 1951 to September 1962 and the mother of Kelly Curtis and Jamie Lee Curtis....
, Tony MartinTony Martin (entertainer)Tony Martin is an American actor and singer.-Career:Tony Martin was born on Christmas Day, 1913 as Alvin Morris in San Francisco, California to Jewish immigrant parents. He received a saxophone as a gift from his grandmother at the age of ten. In his grammar school glee club, he became an...
, Gloria DeHavenGloria DeHavenGloria Mildred DeHaven is an American actress and a former contract star for MGM.-Early life and career:DeHaven was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of actor-director Carter DeHaven and actress Flora Parker DeHaven, both former vaudeville performers.She began her career as a child...
, Ann MillerAnn MillerJohnnie Lucille Collier, better known as Ann Miller was an American singer, dancer and actress.-Early life:...
and Bob CrosbyBob CrosbyGeorge Robert "Bob" Crosby was an American dixieland bandleader and vocalist, best known for his group the Bob-Cats.-Family:...
.
Births
- January 6 – Kim WilsonKim WilsonKim Wilson is an American blues singer and harmonica player. He is best known as the lead vocalist and frontman for The Fabulous Thunderbirds on two hit songs of the 1980s; "Tuff Enuff", and "Wrap It Up."-Career:...
(The Fabulous ThunderbirdsThe Fabulous ThunderbirdsThe Fabulous Thunderbirds are an American, Grammy-nominated Blues rock band, formed in 1974.-Career:After performing for several years in the Austin, Texas blues scene, the band won a recording contract with Takoma/Chrysalis Records, and later on signed with Epic Records.Their first two albums,...
) - January 9 – Crystal GayleCrystal GayleCrystal Gayle is an American country music singer best known for her 1977 country-pop hit, "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue". An award-winning singer, she accumulated 18 number one country hits during the 1970s and 1980s...
, country singer - January 19
- Dewey Bunnell (AmericaAmerica (band)America is an English-American folk rock band that originally included members Gerry Beckley, Dewey Bunnell and Dan Peek. The three members were barely out of their teens when they became a musical sensation during 1972, scoring #1 hits and winning a Grammy for best new musical artist...
) - Martha Davis (The MotelsThe MotelsThe Motels are a New Wave music band from the Los Angeles area best known for "Only the Lonely" and "Suddenly Last Summer", each of which peaked at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1982 and 1983, respectively. Their song "Total Control" reached #4 on the Australian charts in 1980...
)
- Dewey Bunnell (America
- January 20 – Ian HillIan HillIan Hill is a founding member and bassist for the Birmingham-based Grammy award winning heavy metal band, Judas Priest....
- January 27
- Brian DowneyBrian Downey (drummer)Brian Michael Downey is an Irish drummer.Downey is the drummer and a founding member of the rock band Thin Lizzy, and a friend from childhood of co-founder and frontman Phil Lynott. Along with Lynott, Downey was the only constant member of the pioneering hard rock group until their break-up in...
, drummer (Thin LizzyThin LizzyThin Lizzy are an Irish hard rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. Two of the founding members, drummer Brian Downey and bass guitarist/vocalist Phil Lynott met while still in school. Lynott assumed the role of frontman and led them throughout their recording career of thirteen studio albums...
) - Seth JustmanSeth JustmanSeth Justman was the keyboard player for the U.S. rock band, The J. Geils Band. He co-wrote many of the band's songs with singer Peter Wolf, and took sole songwriting credits for the band's biggest international hit, "Centerfold" . Justman became the band's main vocalist once Wolf left the J...
(The J. Geils Band)
- Brian Downey
- January 30 – Phil CollinsPhil CollinsPhilip David Charles "Phil" Collins, LVO is an English singer-songwriter, drummer, pianist and actor best known as a drummer and vocalist for British progressive rock group Genesis and as a solo artist....
, drummer, singer and actor - January 31
- K.C. (Harry Wayne CaseyHarry Wayne CaseyHarry Wayne "K.C." Casey is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and producer. He is most famous for his group, KC and the Sunshine Band, and as a producer of several hits for other artists.-Early years:...
), singer (K.C. and the Sunshine Band) - Phil ManzaneraPhil ManzaneraPhil Manzanera is a musician and record producer. He is the lead guitarist with Roxy Music. In 2006 Manzanera co-produced David Gilmour's album On An Island and played in Gilmour's band for tours in Europe and North America...
, guitarist (Roxy MusicRoxy MusicRoxy Music was a British art rock band formed in 1971 by Bryan Ferry, who became the group's lead vocalist and chief songwriter, and bassist Graham Simpson. The other members are Phil Manzanera , Andy Mackay and Paul Thompson . Former members include Brian Eno , and Eddie Jobson...
)
- K.C. (Harry Wayne Casey
- February 9 – Dennis Thomas (Kool and the Gang)
- February 12 – Gil MooreGil MooreGil Moore is most famous for being the drummer and vocalist of the Canadian power trio, Triumph...
(TriumphTriumph (band)Triumph is a Canadian hard rock power trio that was popular in the late 1970s through the 1980s. Eight of the band's albums were certified gold or higher, and Triumph was nominated for multiple Juno Awards, including Group of the Year Award in 1979, 1985, 1986 and 1987.Like their fellow Canadians...
) - February 15 – Melissa ManchesterMelissa ManchesterMelissa Manchester is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Beginning in the 1970s, she has recorded generally in the adult contemporary genre. She has also appeared as an actress on television, in films, and on stage....
, singer - February 22 – Ellen GreeneEllen GreeneEllen Greene is an American singer and actress. Greene has had a long and varied career as a singer, particularly in cabaret, as an actor and singer in numerous stage productions, particularly musical theatre, as well as having performed in many films – notably Little Shop of Horrors...
, singer and actress - February 27 – Steve HarleySteve HarleySteve Harley is an English singer and songwriter, best known for his work with the 1970s rock group Cockney Rebel, with whom he still occasionally tours .-Biography:As a child, Harley suffered from polio, spending four years in hospital up to the...
, singer (Cockney Rebel) - March 4 – Chris ReaChris ReaChris Rea is an English singer-songwriter, recognisable for his distinctive, husky voice and slide guitar playing. The British Hit Singles & Albums stated that Rea was "one of the most popular UK singer-songwriters of the late 1980s. He was already a major European star by the time he finally...
, singer-songwriter - March 9 – Zakir HussainZakir Hussain (musician)Zakir Hussain , , is an Indian tabla player, musical producer, film actor and composer.-Early life:Hussain was born in Mumbai, India to the legendary tabla player Alla Rakha. He attended St...
, Indian tabla player, music producer, film actor and soundtrack composer - March 17 – Scott GorhamScott GorhamScott Gorham is an American guitarist and songwriter who rose to international recognition as one of the "twin lead guitarists" of the Irish-formed rock band, Thin Lizzy...
(Thin LizzyThin LizzyThin Lizzy are an Irish hard rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. Two of the founding members, drummer Brian Downey and bass guitarist/vocalist Phil Lynott met while still in school. Lynott assumed the role of frontman and led them throughout their recording career of thirteen studio albums...
) - March 20 – Jimmie VaughanJimmie VaughanJames Lawrence "Jimmie" Vaughan is an American blues rock guitarist and singer from Dallas, Texas, United States. He is the older brother of the late Stevie Ray Vaughan....
(The Fabulous ThunderbirdsThe Fabulous ThunderbirdsThe Fabulous Thunderbirds are an American, Grammy-nominated Blues rock band, formed in 1974.-Career:After performing for several years in the Austin, Texas blues scene, the band won a recording contract with Takoma/Chrysalis Records, and later on signed with Epic Records.Their first two albums,...
) - March 21
- Russell Thompkins, Jr.Russell Thompkins, Jr.Russell Allen Thompkins, Jr. is an American soul singer. Noted for his high-pitched tenor and falsetto vocals, Thompkins is the former lead singer of the Philadelphia soul vocal group The Stylistics.-Career:...
, vocalist (The StylisticsThe StylisticsThe Stylistics are a soul music vocal group, and were one of the best-known Philadelphia soul groups of the 1970s. They formed in 1968, and were composed of lead Russell Thompkins, Jr., Herbie Murrell, Airrion Love, James Smith, and James Dunn. All of their US hits were ballads, graced by the...
) - Conrad LozanoConrad LozanoConrad Lozano is the bass player for Los Lobos.Conrad uses a Lakland Joe Osborne 4 string Bass and runs it through an Ampeg bass amp. His down-to-earth style and walking bass sound is the driving force of the East Los Angeles band Los Lobos. He also sings backing vocal harmony on most of the Los...
(Los LobosLos LobosLos Lobos are a multiple Grammy Award–winning American Chicano rock band from East Los Angeles, California. Their music is influenced by rock and roll, Tex-Mex, country, folk, R&B, blues, brown-eyed soul, and traditional Spanish and Mexican music such as cumbia, boleros and norteños.-History:The...
)
- Russell Thompkins, Jr.
- March 23 – Phil KeaggyPhil KeaggyPhil Keaggy is an American acoustic and electric guitarist and vocalist who has released more than 50 albums and contributed to many more recordings in both the contemporary Christian music and mainstream markets...
, guitarist, singer - April 3 – Mel SchacherMel SchacherMel Schacher is best known as the bassist for rock band Grand Funk Railroad.- Early career :Schacher was born in Flint, Michigan. He became interested in music at the age of seven playing with his father's banjo. By age twelve he had moved to playing guitar and then bass...
(Question Mark & the Mysterians, Grand Funk RailroadGrand Funk RailroadGrand Funk Railroad is an American rock band that was highly popular during the 1970s. Grand Funk Railroad toured constantly to packed arenas worldwide. A popular take on the band during its heyday was that, although the critics hated them, audiences loved them...
) - April 6 – Pascal RogéPascal RogéPascal Rogé is a French pianist. His playing includes the works of compatriot composers Saint-Saëns, Fauré, Debussy, Ravel, Satie, and Poulenc, among others. However, his repertoire also covers the German masters Haydn, Mozart, Brahms, and Beethoven.- Biography :Rogé first appeared in public in...
, pianist - April 7 – Janis IanJanis IanJanis Ian is an American songwriter, singer, musician, columnist, and science fiction author. Ian first entered the folk music scene while still a teenager in the mid-sixties; most active musically in that decade and the 1970s, she has continued recording into the 21st century...
, singer-songwriter - April 12 – Alex BrileyAlex BrileyAlexander "Alex" Briley performed the "G.I." role in the disco era music group, Village People. Briley was born and raised in Harlem, New York and later Mount Vernon, New York. A minister's son, he sang in church from an early age and studied voice at the University of Hartford...
(The Village People) - April 13
- Peabo BrysonPeabo BrysonPeabo Bryson is an American R&B and soul singer-songwriter, born in Greenville, South Carolina...
, singer - Max WeinbergMax WeinbergMax Weinberg is an American drummer and television personality, most widely known as the longtime drummer for Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band and as the bandleader for Conan O'Brien on Late Night with Conan O'Brien and The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien.Weinberg grew up in suburban New Jersey...
, drummer and bandleader (Late Night with Conan O'BrienLate Night with Conan O'BrienLate Night with Conan O'Brien is an American late-night talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien that aired 2,725 episodes on NBC between 1993 and 2009. The show featured varied comedic material, celebrity interviews, and musical and comedy performances. Late Night aired weeknights at 12:37 am...
)
- Peabo Bryson
- April 14 – Julian Lloyd WebberJulian Lloyd WebberJulian Lloyd Webber is a British solo cellist who has been described as the "doyen of British cellists".-Early life:Julian Lloyd Webber is the second son of the composer William Lloyd Webber and his wife Jean Johnstone . He is the younger brother of the composer Andrew Lloyd Webber...
, cellist - April 20 – Luther VandrossLuther VandrossLuther Ronzoni Vandross was an American singer-songwriter and record producer. During his career, Vandross sold over twenty-five million albums and won eight Grammy Awards including Best Male R&B Vocal Performance four times...
, soul singer (d. 2005) - April 22 – Paul CarrackPaul CarrackPaul Carrack is an English singer, songwriter and musician. Carrack has been a member of several bands including Ace, Squeeze, Mike + The Mechanics, and Roxy Music, been a session and touring musician for several others including Nick Lowe, and has enjoyed success as a solo artist as well...
, singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist - April 27 – Ace FrehleyAce FrehleyPaul Daniel "Ace" Frehley is an American musician best known as the lead guitarist of the rock band Kiss. He took on the persona of the "Spaceman" or "Space Ace" when the band adopted costumes and theatrics...
(KissKISS (band)Kiss is an American rock band formed in New York City in January 1973. Well-known for its members' face paint and flamboyant stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid to late 1970s on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting,...
) - May 3 – Christopher CrossChristopher CrossChristopher Cross is an American singer-songwriter from San Antonio, Texas. His debut album earned him five Grammys. He is perhaps best known for his Top Ten hit songs, "Sailing", "Ride Like the Wind", and "Arthur's Theme ", the last of which he performed for the film Arthur starring Dudley Moore...
, singer-songwriter - May 4
- Jackie JacksonJackie JacksonSigmund Esco "Jackie" Jackson is an American singer and musician, a member of The Jackson 5, and the second child in the Jackson family.-Life and career:...
, vocalist (The Jackson Five) - Mick MarsMick MarsMick Mars is the lead guitarist for American heavy metal band Mötley Crüe.-Career:After his family relocated from Indiana, to California, Bob Deal dropped out of high school and began playing guitar in a series of unsuccessful blues based rock bands throughout the seventies, taking on menial day...
(Mötley CrüeMötley CrüeMötley Crüe is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1981. The group was founded by bass guitarist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee, who were later joined by lead guitarist Mick Mars and lead singer Vince Neil...
)
- Jackie Jackson
- May 8 – Philip BaileyPhilip BaileyPhilip Irvin Bailey is an American R&B, soul, gospel and funk singer, songwriter, percussionist and actor, best known as one of the longtime members of Earth, Wind & Fire. Together with Verdine White, B. David Whitworth, and Ralph Johnson he forms the heart of the current EWF line-up on...
, vocalist (Earth, Wind & FireEarth, Wind & FireEarth, Wind & Fire is an American soul and R&B band formed in Chicago, Illinois, in 1969 by Verdine and Maurice White. Also known as EWF, the band has won six Grammy Awards and four American Music Awards. They have been inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Vocal Group Hall of...
) - May 10 – Ronald Banks (The DramaticsThe DramaticsThe Dramatics are an American soul music vocal group, formed in Detroit, Michigan in 1962. They are best known for their 1970s hit songs "In the Rain" and "Whatcha See is Whatcha Get", both of which were #1 R&B and Top 10 Pop hits.-Career:The Dramatics originally formed in 1962 recording as the...
) - May 16 – Jonathan RichmanJonathan RichmanJonathan Michael Richman is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. In 1970 he founded The Modern Lovers, an influential proto-punk band. Since the mid-1970s, Richman has worked either solo or with low-key, generally acoustic backing...
- May 19 – Joey RamoneJoey RamoneJoey Ramone was an American vocalist and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist in the punk rock band the Ramones. Joey Ramone's image, voice and tenure as frontman of the Ramones made him a countercultural icon.-Early life:Joey Ramone was born Jeffry Hyman to parents Noel and Charlotte Hyman...
, singer (RamonesRamonesThe Ramones were an American rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first punk rock group...
) (d. 2001) - June 3 – Deniece WilliamsDeniece WilliamsJune Deniece Chandler known by her stage name Deniece Williams is an American Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter and record producer who achieved success in the 1970s and 1980s...
, singer - June 8 – Bonnie TylerBonnie TylerBonnie Tyler is a Welsh singer, most notable for her hits in the 1970s and 1980s including "It's a Heartache", "Holding Out for a Hero" and "Total Eclipse of the Heart".-Early life:...
, singer - June 10 – Ed McTaggartEd McTaggartEd McTaggart is an American drummer and artist. He is best known as the drummer of the rock band Daniel Amos.McTaggart joined DA in 1976, after years of playing with Bill Sprouse Jr.'s band The Road Home....
(Daniel AmosDaniel AmosDaniel Amos is a rock band formed in 1974 by Terry Scott Taylor on guitars and vocals, Marty Dieckmeyer on bass guitar, Steve Baxter on guitars and Jerry Chamberlain on lead guitars. Current members include bassist Tim Chandler, guitarist Greg Flesch and drummer Ed McTaggart...
, The Road Home) - June 12
- Bun E. CarlosBun E. CarlosBun E. Carlos, born Brad Carlson, June 12, 1951, is the primary drummer for American rock band Cheap Trick. He is the band's chief setlister and archivist, and maintains recordings of all the band's shows, some of which have been released under the name 'Bun E's Bootlegs'.Carlos is left-handed, but...
(Cheap TrickCheap TrickCheap Trick is an American rock band from Rockford, Illinois, formed in 1973. The band consists of members Robin Zander , Rick Nielsen , Tom Petersson , and Bun E...
) - Brad DelpBrad DelpBradley E. Delp was an American musician, best known as the lead vocalist of the rock band Boston. Delp was known for his vocal histrionics, and especially his high range.-Early life:...
(BostonBoston (band)Boston is an American rock band from Boston, Massachusetts that achieved its most notable successes during the 1970s and 1980s. Centered on guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter, and producer Tom Scholz, the band is a staple of classic rock radio playlists...
) (d. 2007)
- Bun E. Carlos
- June 15 – Steve WalshSteve Walsh (musician)Steve Walsh is a singer and songwriter best known for his work as a member of the progressive rock band Kansas.-Introduction:The keyboardist/vocalist/songwriter/producer/percussionist is best known for his visionary work with Kansas...
, (KansasKansas (band)Kansas is an American rock band that became popular in the 1970s initially on Album-Oriented Rock charts, and later with hit singles such as "Carry On Wayward Son" and "Dust in the Wind"...
) - June 30 - Steve WallerSteve WallerSteven Charles Waller was best known as the lead guitar player and a vocalist for Manfred Mann's Earth Band between 1979 and 1983...
, guitarist (d. 2000) - July 1 – Fred SchneiderFred SchneiderFrederick William "Fred" Schneider III is an American rock singer, best known as the frontman of the rock band The B-52's, of which he is a founding member. Schneider is well-known for his sprechgesang which he developed from reciting poetry over guitars.-Early life:Schneider was born in Newark,...
(The B-52s) - July 7 – Blondie ChaplinBlondie ChaplinTerence William 'Blondie' Chaplin is a musician from Durban, South Africa who first became known to international audiences through his brief stint in the early 1970s as a singer and guitarist for The Beach Boys...
, guitarist and singer - July 11 – Bonnie PointerBonnie PointerPatricia Eva "Bonnie" Pointer is an American R&B and disco singer, most notable for being the next-to-youngest member of the 1970s and 1980s family music group, The Pointer Sisters. She scored several moderate solo hits after leaving the Pointers in 1977, including a disco cover of The Elgins'...
(The Pointer Sisters) - July 12 – Sylvia SassSylvia SassSylvia Sass is a Hungarian operatic soprano who has sung leading roles both in her native country and internationally.-Life and career:...
, operatic soprano - July 15 – Gregory IsaacsGregory IsaacsGregory Anthony Isaacs was a Jamaican reggae musician. Milo Miles, writing in the New York Times, described Isaacs as "the most exquisite vocalist in reggae". His nicknames include Cool Ruler and Lonely Lover....
, reggae musician (d. 2010) - August 2 – Andrew GoldAndrew GoldAndrew Maurice Gold was an American singer, musician and songwriter. His works include the Top 10 single "Lonely Boy" , as well as the singles "Thank You for Being a Friend" , and "Never Let Her Slip Away" ....
, singer-songwriter (d. 2011) - August 3 – Johnny Graham (Earth, Wind & FireEarth, Wind & FireEarth, Wind & Fire is an American soul and R&B band formed in Chicago, Illinois, in 1969 by Verdine and Maurice White. Also known as EWF, the band has won six Grammy Awards and four American Music Awards. They have been inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Vocal Group Hall of...
) - August 4 – Lois V VierkLois V VierkLois V Vierk is a "post-minimalist" or "totalist" composer who lives in New York City.She received a B.A. degree in piano and ethnomusicology from UCLA in 1974. She then attended Cal Arts, studying composition with Mel Powell, Leonard Stein, and Morton Subotnick, receiving her M.F.A. in 1978...
, composer - August 13 – Dan FogelbergDan FogelbergDaniel Grayling "Dan" Fogelberg was an American singer-songwriter, composer, and multi-instrumentalist, whose music was inspired by sources as diverse as folk, pop, rock, classical, jazz, and bluegrass music...
, singer-songwriter, composer, and multi-instrumentalist (d. 2007) - August 19 – John DeaconJohn DeaconJohn Richard Deacon is a retired English multi-instrumentalist and song writer, best known as the bassist for the rock band Queen. Of the four members of the band, he was the last to join and also the youngest, being only 19 years old when he was recruited by the other members of the band...
, bass guitarist (QueenQueen (band)Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
) - August 23
- Jimi JamisonJimi JamisonJimmy Wayne "Jimi" Jamison is a rock vocalist and songwriter, best known as the lead singer for the band Survivor from 1984–1989 and 2000-2006.- Further biography :...
(SurvivorSurvivor (band)Survivor is an American rock band formed in Chicago in 1978. The band achieved its greatest success in the 1980s with its AOR sound, which garnered many charting singles, especially in the United States. The band is best known for its double platinum-certified 1982 hit "Eye of the Tiger", the theme...
) - Mark Hudson (The Hudson Brothers)
- Jimi Jamison
- August 25 – Rob HalfordRob HalfordRobert John Arthur "Rob" Halford is an English singer-songwriter, who is best known as the lead vocalist for the Grammy Award-winning heavy metal band Judas Priest. He is nicknamed the "Metal God" as a tribute to his influence on metal, and after the Judas Priest song of the same name from 1980's...
(Judas PriestJudas PriestJudas Priest are an English heavy metal band from Birmingham, England, formed in 1969. The current line-up consists of lead vocalist Rob Halford, guitarists Glenn Tipton and Richie Faulkner, bassist Ian Hill, and drummer Scott Travis. The band has gone through several drummers over the years,...
) - August 28 – Wayne OsmondWayne OsmondMelvin Wayne Osmond is the second oldest of the original Osmond Brothers singers and the fourth oldest of the nine Osmond children. He has been performing since he was six years old and made his national television debut on the Andy Williams Show with brothers, Alan, Merrill, and Jay. They...
, vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter (The OsmondsThe OsmondsThe Osmonds are an American family music group with a long and varied career—a career that took them from singing barbershop music as children, to achieving success as teen-music idols, to producing a hit television show, and to continued success as solo and group performers...
) - September 2 – Mik KaminskiMik KaminskiMik Kaminski is best known for playing violin in the Electric Light Orchestra between 1973 and 1979.-Biography:...
(Electric Light OrchestraElectric Light OrchestraElectric Light Orchestra were a British rock group from Birmingham who released eleven studio albums between 1971 and 1986 and another album in 2001. ELO were formed to accommodate Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne's desire to create modern rock and pop songs with classical overtones...
) - September 7 – Chrissie HyndeChrissie HyndeChristine Ellen "Chrissie" Hynde is an US musician best known as the leader of the rock/new wave band the Pretenders. She is a singer, songwriter, and guitarist, and has been the only constant member of the band throughout its history.-Early life and career:Hynde is the daughter of a part-time...
, singer (The PretendersThe PretendersThe Pretenders are an English rock band formed in Hereford, England in March 1978. The original band consisted of initiator and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde , James Honeyman-Scott , Pete Farndon , and Martin Chambers...
) - September 12 – Olga BreeskinOlga BreeskinOlga Breeskin is a Mexican violinist, dancer, actress and vedette. She is the daughter of the late Russian violinist and conductor Elias Breeskin.-Early life:...
, violinist, dancer and actress - September 19 – Daniel LanoisDaniel LanoisDaniel Lanois born September 19, 1951 in Hull, Quebec) is a Canadian record producer, guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. He has released a number of albums of his own work and has produced albums for a wide variety of artists, including Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Peter Gabriel, Emmylou Harris, Willie...
, record producer, guitarist and singer-songwriter - September 22 – David CoverdaleDavid CoverdaleDavid 'Jack' Coverdale is an English rock singer, most famous for his work with the his own hard rock band Whitesnake which achieved massive commercial success.-Early life:...
, vocalist (Deep PurpleDeep PurpleDeep Purple are an English rock band formed in Hertford in 1968. Along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, they are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock, although some band members believe that their music cannot be categorised as belonging to any one genre...
, WhitesnakeWhitesnakeWhitesnake are an English rock band, founded in 1978 by David Coverdale after his departure from his previous band, Deep Purple. The band's early material has been compared by critics to Deep Purple, but by the mid 1980s they had moved to a more commercial hard rock style...
) - September 25 – Peter DvorskýPeter DvorskýPeter Dvorský is a Slovak operatic tenor. Possessing a lyrical voice with a soft, elastic tone, and warm and melodious timbre, Dvorský's repertoire concentrates on roles from the Italian and Slavic repertories....
, operatic tenor - October 2 – Sting, singer
- October 5 – Bob GeldofBob GeldofRobert Frederick Zenon "Bob" Geldof, KBE is an Irish singer, songwriter, author, occasional actor and political activist. He rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Irish rock band The Boomtown Rats in the late 1970s and early 1980s alongside the punk rock movement. The band had hits with his...
, singer (The Boomtown RatsThe Boomtown RatsThe Boomtown Rats were an Irish punk rock band that had a series of Irish and UK hits between 1977 and 1985. They were led by vocalist Bob Geldof.-Biography:All six members were originally from Dún Laoghaire, Ireland...
), social campaigner & organizer of LiveAid - October 6 – Kevin CroninKevin CroninKevin Cronin is the lead vocalist/ rhythm guitarist/ occasional pianist for the American rock band, REO Speedwagon. REO Speedwagon had two #1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 written by Cronin, "Keep on Loving You" and "Can't Fight This Feeling" .- Early life and career :Cronin was born in Evanston,...
(REO SpeedwagonREO SpeedwagonREO Speedwagon is an American rock band. Formed in 1967, the band grew in popularity during the 1970s and peaked in the early 1980s. Hi Infidelity is the group's most commercially successful album, selling over ten million copies and charting four Top 40 hits in the US...
) - October 7 – John MellencampJohn MellencampJohn Mellencamp, previously known by the stage names Johnny Cougar, John Cougar, and John Cougar Mellencamp, is an American rock singer-songwriter, musician, painter and occasional actor known for his catchy, populist brand of heartland rock that eschews synthesizers and other artificial sounds...
, singer-songwriter, artist and actor - October 13 – John Ford ColeyJohn Ford ColeyJohn Ford Coley is a singer, classically trained pianist, guitarist, actor, and author most known for his partnership in the musical duo England Dan & John Ford Coley.-Early life:...
, singer, pianist, guitarist, actor, and author - October 20 – Alan Greenwood (ForeignerForeigner (band)Foreigner is a British-American rock band, originally formed in 1976 by veteran English musicians Mick Jones and ex-King Crimson member Ian McDonald along with American vocalist Lou Gramm...
) - October 23 – Charly GarcíaCharly GarcíaCharly García is a singer-songwriter, pianist and keyboardist from Argentina with a long career in rock music, forming successful groups such as Sui Generis and Serú Girán, cult status groups like La Máquina de Hacer Pájaros, and as a solo musician.-Early years:Charly García was the eldest son in...
, singer-songwriter and pianist - October 26 – Maggie Roche (The RochesThe RochesThe Roches are a female vocal group of three songwriting Irish-American sisters from Park Ridge, New Jersey, known for their "unusual" and "rich" harmonies, quirky lyrics, and casually comedic stage performances.The Roches have been active as performers and recording artists since the mid-1970s,...
) - October 27 – K. K. DowningK. K. DowningKenneth "K.K." Downing, Jr. is a Grammy Award winning guitarist, songwriter and a founding member of the British heavy metal band Judas Priest...
(Judas PriestJudas PriestJudas Priest are an English heavy metal band from Birmingham, England, formed in 1969. The current line-up consists of lead vocalist Rob Halford, guitarists Glenn Tipton and Richie Faulkner, bassist Ian Hill, and drummer Scott Travis. The band has gone through several drummers over the years,...
) - November 1 – Ronald BellRonald Bell (musician)Ronald Bell, also known by his Arabic name Khalis Bayyan is an American saxophonist, composer, songwriter, arranger, producer and singer, who was a founding member of the band, Kool & the Gang...
(Kool & the GangKool & the GangKool & the Gang are an American jazz, R&B, soul, and funk group, originally formed as the Jazziacs in Jersey City, New Jersey in 1964.They went through several musical phases during the course of their recording career, starting out with a purist jazz sound, then becoming practitioners of R&B and...
) - November 13 – Bill Gibson (Huey Lewis and the NewsHuey Lewis and the NewsHuey Lewis and the News is an American rock band based in San Francisco, California. They had a run of hit singles during the 1980s and early 1990s, eventually scoring a total of 19 top-ten singles across the Billboard Hot 100, Adult Contemporary and Mainstream Rock charts...
) - November 27 – Kevin Kavanaugh (Southside Johnny and The Asbury Jukes)
- November 29 – Barry GoudreauBarry GoudreauBarry Goudreau is a musician, best known as one of the original guitarists for the rock band Boston.- Before Boston :Goudreau had developed a musical interest at an early age and got his first guitar, an acoustic which he borrowed from a friend, at age 11. He began taking lessons and by age 13,...
(BostonBoston (band)Boston is an American rock band from Boston, Massachusetts that achieved its most notable successes during the 1970s and 1980s. Centered on guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter, and producer Tom Scholz, the band is a staple of classic rock radio playlists...
) - December 4 – Gary RossingtonGary RossingtonGary Robert Rossington is a founding member of Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd. He plays lead and rhythm guitar. He is also a founding member of The Rossington-Collins Band along with former Lynyrd Skynyrd bandmate, the late Allen Collins...
(Lynyrd SkynyrdLynyrd SkynyrdLynyrd Skynyrd is an American rock band prominent in spreading Southern Rock during the 1970s.Originally formed as the "Noble Five" in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1964, the band rose to worldwide recognition on the basis of its driving live performances and signature tune, Freebird...
, Rossington-Collins Band) - December 10 – Johnny RodriguezJohnny RodriguezJohnny Rodriguez is an American country music singer. He was the first famous Latin American country music singer, infusing his music with Latin sounds, and even singing verses of songs in Spanish....
, country singer - December 16
- Robben FordRobben FordRobben Ford is an American blues, jazz and rock guitarist.-Biography:Ford was born in Woodlake, California, United States, but raised in Ukiah, California, and began playing the saxophone at age 10, picking up the guitar at age 13...
, guitarist - Mark HeardMark HeardJohn Mark Heard was a record producer, folk-rock singer, and songwriter originally from Macon, Georgia, USA....
, singer-songwriter (d. 1992)
- Robben Ford
- December 21 – Nick GilderNick GilderNicholas George "Nick" Gilder , is an English-Canadian musician who first came to prominence as the frontman for the glam rock band Sweeney Todd. He later had a successful solo career as a singer as well as a songwriter.-Biography:...
, singer and songwriter - December 23 – Johnny ContardoJohnny ContardoJohnny Contardo is best known as former lead singer with the musical group, Sha Na Na. In 1978, he appeared with Sha Na Na in the blockbuster hit movie musical Grease as Johnny Casino and the Gamblers...
(Sha Na NaSha Na NaSha Na Na is an American rock and roll group. The name is taken from a part of the long series of nonsense syllables in the doo-wop hit song "Get a Job", originally recorded in 1957 by the Silhouettes....
) - December 25 – Barbara DeverBarbara DeverThe American mezzo-soprano Barbara Dever is an opera singer who has appeared with Luciano Pavarotti, Plácido Domingo, Zubin Mehta, Nello Santi and James Levine.Dever made her Metropolitan Opera debut in 1994, as Amneris in Aida...
, operatic soprano - December 26
- Paul Anthony Quinn (SaxonSaxon (band)Saxon are an English heavy metal band, formed in 1976 in Barnsley, Yorkshire. As front-runners of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, they had 8 UK Top 40 albums in the 1980s including 4 UK Top 10 albums. Saxon also had numerous singles in the Top 20 singles chart...
) - John ScofieldJohn ScofieldJohn Scofield , often referred to as "Sco," is an American jazz guitarist and composer, who has played and collaborated with Miles Davis, Dave Liebman, Joe Henderson, Charles Mingus, Joey Defrancesco, Herbie Hancock, Pat Metheny, Bill Frisell, Pat Martino, Mavis Staples, Phil Lesh, Billy Cobham,...
, jazz guitarist and composer
- Paul Anthony Quinn (Saxon
- December 29 – Yvonne EllimanYvonne EllimanYvonne Marianne Elliman is an American singer who performed for four years in the first cast of Jesus Christ Superstar...
, singer - December 31
- Tom HamiltonTom Hamilton (musician)Thomas William "Tom" Hamilton is an American musician, best known as the bassist of hard rock band Aerosmith. He has co-written two of Aerosmith's hits, "Sweet Emotion" and "Janie's Got a Gun". Hamilton occasionally plays guitar and sings backing vocals Thomas William "Tom" Hamilton (born...
(AerosmithAerosmithAerosmith is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston" and "America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based hard rock, has come to also incorporate elements of pop, heavy metal, and rhythm and blues, and has inspired many...
) - George ThorogoodGeorge ThorogoodGeorge Thorogood is an American blues rock vocalist/guitarist from Wilmington, Delaware, United States, known for his hit song "Bad to the Bone" as well as for covers of blues standards such as Hank Williams' "Move It On Over" and John Lee Hooker's "House Rent Boogie/One Bourbon, One Scotch, One...
, blues musician
- Tom Hamilton
- date unknown – Lorenzo FerreroLorenzo FerreroLorenzo Ferrero is a contemporary Italian composer with a predilection for opera, a librettist, author, and book editor. He started composing at an early age and wrote over a hundred compositions thus far, including twelve operas, three ballets, and numerous orchestral, chamber music, solo...
, composer
Deaths
- January 20 - Alexander ChuhaldinAlexander ChuhaldinAlexander Gregorovitch Chuhaldin was a Russian violinist, conductor, composer, and music educator. He spent his early career working in his native country but after 1927 he was active in Canada. His compositional output includes over 30 works for string orchestra; many of which were published by...
, violinist, conductor , composer , and music educator, 58 - February 3 – Fréhel, French singer, actress, 59
- February 9 – Eddy DuchinEddy DuchinEddy Duchin was an American popular pianist and bandleader of the 1930s and 1940s, famous for his engaging onstage personality, his elegant piano style, and his fight against leukemia.-Early career:...
, pianist and bandleader, 41 (leukaemia) - February 20 – Howard BrockwayHoward BrockwayHoward A. Brockway was an American composer.Brockway was born on November 22, 1870 in Brooklyn, New York. He spent five years in Berlin, studying composition under Otis Bardwell Boise and piano under Heinrich Barth. Afterwards he returned to the U.S...
, composer, 80 - February 28 – Giannina RussGiannina RussGiannina Russ was an Italian operatic soprano, particularly associated with the Italian repertory.-Life and career:Russ studied piano and voice at the Milan Music Conservatory with Leoni....
, operatic soprano, 77 - March 5 – Leo SingerLeo SingerLeopold von Singer was the manager of the Singer Midgets, a popular vaudeville group in the first half of the twentieth century.Singer was born to a prominent family in Vienna, Austria...
, vaudeville impresario, 73 - March 6 – Ivor NovelloIvor NovelloDavid Ivor Davies , better known as Ivor Novello, was a Welsh composer, singer and actor who became one of the most popular British entertainers of the first half of the 20th century. Born into a musical family, his first successes were as a songwriter...
, operettaOperettaOperetta is a genre of light opera, light in terms both of music and subject matter. It is also closely related, in English-language works, to forms of musical theatre.-Origins:...
composer, entertainer, 58 (coronary thrombosis) - March 12 – Harold BauerHarold BauerHarold Bauer was a noted pianist who began his musical career as a violinist.Harold Bauer was born in London; his father was a German violinist and his mother was English. He took up the study of the violin under the direction of his father and Adolf Pollitzer. He made his debut as a violinist in...
, pianist and violinist, 77 - March 25 – Sid CatlettSid CatlettSidney Catlett , was a swinging jazz drummer often referred to as "Big Sid Catlett" because of his large frame.-Biography:...
, jazz drummer, 41 (heart attack) - April 21 – Olive FremstadOlive FremstadOlive Fremstad was the stage name of Anna Olivia Rundquist, a celebrated Swedish-American opera diva who sang in both the mezzo-soprano and soprano ranges. -Background:...
, operatic soprano, 80 - May 29
- Fanny BriceFanny BriceFanny Brice was a popular and influential American illustrated song "model," comedienne, singer, theatre and film actress, who made many stage, radio and film appearances and is known as the creator and star of the top-rated radio comedy series, The Baby Snooks Show...
, US actress, comedienne and singer - Josef Bohuslav FoersterJosef Bohuslav FoersterJosef Bohuslav Foerster was a Czech composer of classical music. He is often referred to as J. B. Foerster. The surname is sometimes spelled Förster.- Life :...
, Czech classical composer (born 1859) - Robert KahnRobert Kahn (composer)Robert Kahn was a German composer, pianist, and music teacher.- Life :Kahn was born in Mannheim, the second son of Bernhard Kahn and Emma Eberstadt. One of his seven siblings included financier Otto Kahn. His parents belonged to a distinguished family of bankers and merchants...
, composer, 85
- Fanny Brice
- June 4 – Serge KoussevitzkySerge KoussevitzkySerge Koussevitzky , was a Russian-born Jewish conductor, composer and double-bassist, known for his long tenure as music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra from 1924 to 1949.-Early career:...
, double-bassist, conductor and composer, 76 - June 26 – Frank FereraFrank FereraFrank Ferera was a Hawaiian musician who recorded successfully between 1915 and 1930. He was the first star of Hawaiian music and influenced many later artists.-Biography:...
, Hawaiian musician (born 1885) - July 9
- Giannina Arangi-LombardiGiannina Arangi-LombardiGiannina Arangi-Lombardi was a prominent spinto soprano, particularly associated with the Italian operatic repertory....
, operatic soprano, 60 - Egbert Van AlstyneEgbert Van AlstyneEgbert Anson Van Alstyne was a United States songwriter and pianist. Van Alstyne was the composer of a number of popular and ragtime tunes from the early 20th century.He was born in Marengo, Illinois...
, US songwriter - Jorgen Bentzon, DanishDenmarkDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
composer
- Giannina Arangi-Lombardi
- July 13 – Arnold SchoenbergArnold SchoenbergArnold Schoenberg was an Austrian composer, associated with the expressionist movement in German poetry and art, and leader of the Second Viennese School...
, Austrian composer, 76 - August 15 – Artur SchnabelArtur SchnabelArtur Schnabel was an Austrian classical pianist, who also composed and taught. Schnabel was known for his intellectual seriousness as a musician, avoiding pure technical bravura...
, pianist, 69 - August 21 – Constant LambertConstant LambertLeonard Constant Lambert was a British composer and conductor.-Early life:Lambert, the son of Russian-born Australian painter George Lambert, was educated at Christ's Hospital and the Royal College of Music...
, composer, 45 (pneumonia and undiagnosed diabetes) - September 3 – Leo SheffieldLeo SheffieldLeo Sheffield was an English singer and actor best known for his performances in baritone roles of the Savoy Operas with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company....
, d'Oyly Carte star, 77 - September 14 – Fritz BuschFritz BuschFritz Busch was a German conductor.Busch was born in Siegen, Province of Westphalia. He held posts conducting opera at Aachen, Stuttgart and Dresden. In 1933 he was dismissed from his post at Dresden because of his opposition to the new Nazi government of Germany...
, conductor, 61 - September 17 – Jimmy YanceyJimmy YanceyJames Edwards "Jimmy" Yancey was an African American boogie-woogie pianist, composer, and lyricist. One reviewer noted him as "one of the pioneers of this raucous, rapid-fire, eight-to-the-bar piano style"....
, US jazz pianist - November 4 - Oscar NatzkaOscar Natzka-Early life:Born as Franz Oscar Natzke at Wharepuhunga, North Island, New Zealand, he was the son of August Natzke , who had emigrated to New Zealand and settled in Otorohanga, and Emma Carter Natzke, of Christchurch, New Zealand, who was a singer.As a boy, the young Natzke worked...
, opera singer, 39 - November 9 – Sigmund RombergSigmund RombergSigmund Romberg was a Hungarian-born American composer, best known for his operettas.-Biography:Romberg was born as Siegmund Rosenberg to a Jewish family in Gross-Kanizsa during the Austro-Hungarian kaiserlich und königlich monarchy period...
, composer - November 11 – César VezzaniCésar VezzaniCésar Vezzani was a French/Corsican operatic tenor who became a leading exponent of French grand opera through several decades. -Career:...
, operatic tenor, 63 - November 13 – Nikolai MedtnerNikolai MedtnerNikolai Karlovich Medtner was a Russian composer and pianist.A younger contemporary of Sergei Rachmaninoff and Alexander Scriabin, he wrote a substantial number of compositions, all of which include the piano...
, pianist and composer, 71 - December 26 – Vic BertonVic BertonVic Berton , was an American jazz drummer.Berton was born, Victor Cohen, in Chicago. His father was a violinist and began his son on string instruments around age five. He was hired as a percussionist at the Alhambra Theater in Milwaukee in 1903 when he was only seven years old...
, jazz drummer, 55 - date unknown
- Edward Joseph CollinsEdward Joseph CollinsEdward Joseph Collins was an American pianist, conductor and composer of romantic classical music. Collins was born in Joliet, Illinois. He studied with Rudolf Ganz in Chicago and in 1906 went with Ganz to Berlin, where he studied performance and composition at the Berlin Hochschule für Musik...
, pianist, conductor and composer - Giuseppina HuguetGiuseppina HuguetGiuseppina Huguet was a Spanish operatic soprano with a lyrical voice who sang throughout Europe prior to World War I.Huguet was born in 1871 and registered on official documents as "Josefina" Huguet. Her first music teacher was Francisco Bonet in Barcelona, where she soon made her operatic debut...
, operatic soprano (born 1871) - Margot RuddockMargot RuddockMarguerite Ruddock , who used the stage name Margot Collis, was an actress, poet and singer. She had a relationship with W. B. Yeats starting in 1934. Their correspondence was published as Ah, Sweet Dancer ....
, actress and singer
- Edward Joseph Collins