1933 in music

List of years in music (table)
... 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 ... 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 ... 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 ...
Art Archaeology Architecture Literature Music Philosophy Science +...

File:Cab Calloway 1933.jpg

Swing band leader Cab Calloway in 1933

This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1933.

Events

• January 23 – Béla Bartók's Piano Concerto No. 2 receives its première in Frankfurt.
• March 6 – Nicolas Slonimsky conducts the world première of Edgard Varèse's Ionisation at Carnegie Hall in New York City.
• June 15 – Florence Price's Symphony In E Minor is premièred by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the first composition by an African American woman to be played by a major orchestra.
• National Association for American Composers and Conductors is founded by Henry Hadley.
• Billie Holiday is "discovered" singing at Monette's club.
• Perry Como begins singing with the Freddie Carlone orchestra
• Gorni Kramer forms his first jazz band
• John Serry, Sr. performs as the first on stage concert accordion soloist at the Radio City Music Hall.
• Georges Bizet's Symphony in C is rediscovered in the library of the Paris Conservatory

Published popular music

• "After All, You're All I'm After" words: Edward Heyman music: Arthur Schwartz. Introduced by John Beal in the play She Loves Me Not.
• "Ah, But Is It Love?" w. E. Y. Harburg m. Jay Gorney. Introduced by Lillian Miles and Roger Pryor in the film Moonlight And Pretzels
• "Annie Doesn't Live Here Any More" w. Joe Young & Johnny Burke m. Harold Spina
• "Are You Makin' Any Money?" w.m. Herman Hupfeld. Introduced by Lillian Miles in the film Moonlight And Pretzels
• "Beautiful Girl" w. Arthur Freed m. Nacio Herb Brown. Introduced by Bing Crosby in the film Going Hollywood.
• "Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen" w.(English language) Sammy Cahn & Saul Chaplin (Yiddish) Jacob Jacobs m. Sholem Secunda
• "Black Moonlight" w.m. Arthur Johnston & Sam Coslow. Introduced by Kitty Kelly in the film Too Much Harmony.
• "Blue Jazz" m. Gene Gifford
• "Blue Lou" w.m. Edgar Sampson & Irving Mills
• "Blue Prelude" w.m. Joe Bishop & Gordon Jenkins
• "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" w. Al Dubin m. Harry Warren
• "Build a Little Home" w. Al Dubin m. Harry Warren. Sung by Eddie Cantor in the film Roman Scandals.
• "By a Waterfall" w. Irving Kahal m. Sammy Fain. Introduced by Ruby Keeler and Dick Powell in the film Footlight Parade.
• "Carioca" w. Gus Kahn & Edward Eliscu m. Vincent Youmans. Introduced by Etta Moten in the film Flying Down to Rio.
• "Close Your Eyes" w.m. Bernice Petkere
• "Coffee in the Morning, Kisses in the Night" w. Al Dubin m. Harry Warren
• "The Day You Came Along" w.m. Arthur Johnston & Sam Coslow
• "Deep Purple" (When The Deep Purple Falls) w. Mitchell Parish m. Peter De Rose. Lyrics added in 1938.
• "Did You Ever See a Dream Walking?" w. Mack Gordon m. Harry Revel
• "Dinner at Eight" w. Dorothy Fields m. Jimmy McHugh
• "Doin' the Uptown Lowdown" w. Mack Gordon m. Harry Revel. Introduced by Frances Williams with Abe Lyman & his Orchestra in the film Broadway Thru a Keyhole
• "Don't Blame Me" w. Dorothy Fields m. Jimmy McHugh
• "Down the Old Ox Road" w. Sam Coslow m. Arthur Johnston
• "Drop Me Off in Harlem" w. Nick Kenny m. Duke Ellington
• "Dusty Shoes" w. E. Y. Harburg m. Jay Gorney. From the film Moonlight And Pretzels
• "Easter Parade" w.m. Irving Berlin
• "Everything I Have Is Yours" w. Harold Adamson m. Burton Lane
• "Experiment" w.m. Cole Porter
• "Flying Down to Rio" w. Edward Eliscu & Gus Kahn m. Vincent Youmans. Introduced by Fred Astaire in the film Flying Down to Rio
• "Forty-Second Street" w. Al Dubin m. Harry Warren
• "Gimme a Pigfoot (And a Bottle of Beer)" w.m. Coot Grant, Wesley Wilson
• "Give Me Liberty or Give Me Love" w. Leo Robin m. Ralph Rainger. Introduced by Claudette Colbert in the film Torch Singer
• " Gotta Get Up and Go to Work" w.m. Herman Hupfeld. From the film Moonlight and Pretzels
• "A Guy What Takes His Time" w.m. Ralph Rainger. Introduced by Mae West in the film She Done Him Wrong.
• "Happy as the Day Is Long" w. Ted Koehler m. Harold Arlen
• "Harlem on My Mind" w.m. Irving Berlin. Introduced by Ethel Waters in the musical As Thousands Cheer.
• "Heat Wave" w.m. Irving Berlin. Introduced by Ethel Waters in the revue As Thousands Cheer. Performed by Marilyn Monroe in the 1954 film There's No Business Like Show Business.
• "Hey, Young Fella" w. Dorothy Fields m. Jimmy McHugh
• "Honeymoon Hotel" w. Al Dubin m. Harry Warren. Introduced by Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler in the film Footlight Parade
• "How Could We Be Wrong?" w.m. Cole Porter. Introduced by Gertrude Lawrence in the musical Nymph Errant
• "How's Chances?" w.m. Irving Berlin, Introduced by Marilyn Miller and Clifton Webb in the musical As Thousands Cheer
• "A Hundred Years from Today" w. Ned Washington & Joe Young m. Victor Young
• "Hustlin' and Bustlin' for Baby" w.m. Harry M. Woods
• "I Cover the Waterfront" w. Edward Heyman m. John Green
• "I Found a New Way to Go to Town" Dubois, Ellison, Harvey
• "I Just Couldn't Take It Baby" w. Mann Holiner m. Alberta Nichols
• "I Like Mountain Music" w. James Cavanaugh m. Frank Weldon
• "I Took My Harp to a Party" w. Desmond Carter m. Noel Gay
• "I Wanna Be Loved" w. Edward Heyman & Billy Rose m. John Green
• "I'm No Angel" w.m. Gladys Du Bois, Ben Ellison & Harvey O. Brooks
• "I'm Satisfied" w. Mitchell Parish m. Duke Ellington
• "Inka Dinka Doo" w.m. Jimmy Durante & Ben Ryan
• "Isn't It a Pity?" w. Ira Gershwin m. George Gershwin. Introduced by George Givot and Josephine Houston in the musical Pardon My English
• "Isn't It Heavenly" w. E. Y. Harburg m. Joseph Meyer
• "It Isn't Fair" w.m. Richard Himber, Frank Warshauer & Sylvester Sprigato
• "It's Only a Paper Moon" w. E. Y. Harburg & Billy Rose m. Harold Arlen
• "It's the Talk of the Town" w. Marty Symes & Al J. Neiburg m. Jerry Livingston
• "I've Found the Right Girl" w.m. Stanley Lupino & Noel Gay
• "I've Got the World on a String" w. Ted Koehler m. Harold Arlen
• "I've Got to Sing a Torch Song" w. Al Dubin m. Harry Warren
• "Keep Young and Beautiful" w. Al Dubin m. Harry Warren
• "The Last Round-Up" w.m. Billy Hill
• "Lazybones" w.m. Johnny Mercer & Hoagy Carmichael
• "Learn to Croon" w. Sam Coslow m. Arthur Johnston
• "Let's Begin" w. Otto Harbach m. Jerome Kern. Introduced by George Murphy in the musical Roberta.
• "Let's Fall in Love" w. Ted Koehler m. Harold Arlen
• "Let's Make Love Like the Crocodiles" w. E. Y. Harburg m. Jay Gorney. From the film Moonlight and Pretzels
• "Lorelei" w. Ira Gershwin m. George Gershwin Introduced in the musical Pardon My English by Johnny Stewart, Gerry Martin and ensemble.
• "Love Locked Out" w. Max Kester m. Ray Noble
• "Love Me" w. Ned Washington m. Victor Young
• "Maria Elena" w. (Eng) S. K. Russell m. Lorenzo Barclelata
• "The Moment I Saw You" w.m. Noel Gay
• "Moonlight and Pretzels" w. E. Y. Harburg m. Jay Gorney. From the film Moonlight and Pretzels
• "Moonstruck" w. Sam Coslow m. Arthur Johnston
• "My Hat's on the Side of My Head" w.m. Harry M. Woods & Claude Hurlburt
• "My Little Grass Shack in Kealakekua, Hawaii" w.m. Billy Cogswell, Tom Harrison & Johnny Noble
• "My Moonlight Madonna" w. Paul Francis Webster m. William Scotti
• "My Shawl" w. (Eng) Stanley Adams (Sp) Pedro Berrios m. Xavier Cugat
• "My Song Goes 'Round the World" w.m. Hans May, Ernst Neubach & Jimmy Kennedy
• "Not for All the Rice in China" w.m. Irving Berlin
• "Nymph Errant" w.m. Cole Porter
• "Oceans of Time" w. Douglas Furber, Clifford Grey & Greatrex Newman m. Johnny Green
• "Old Father Thames" w.m. Raymond Wallace & Betsy O'Hogan
• "Old Man Harlem" w.m. Rudy Vallee & Hoagy Carmichael
• "On the Trail" w. Harold Adamson m. Ferde Grofe
• "One Morning in May" w. Mitchell Parish m. Hoagy Carmichael
• "Oodles of Noodles" m. Jimmy Dorsey
• "Pettin' in the Park" w. Al Dubin m. Harry Warren
• "The Physician" w.m. Cole Porter
• "The Pig Got Up and Slowly Walked Away" w.m. Benjamin Hapgood Burt
• "Remember My Forgotten Man" w. Al Dubin m. Harry Warren
• "Roll Up the Carpet" w. Raymond Klages m. Raymond Klages, Al Goodhart & Al Hoffman
• "Shadow Waltz" w. Al Dubin m. Harry Warren
• "Shanghai Lil" w. Al Dubin m. Harry Warren
• "She Loves Me Not" w. Edward Heyman m. Arthur Schwartz from the musical She Loves Me Not
• "Shuffle Off to Buffalo" w. Al Dubin m. Harry Warren
• "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" w. Otto Harbach m. Jerome Kern
• "Snowball" w.m. Hoagy Carmichael
• "Solomon" w.m. Cole Porter from the musical Nymph Errant
• "Song of Surrender" w. Al Dubin m. Harry Warren
• "Sophisticated Lady" w. Mitchell Parish & Irving Mills m. Duke Ellington
• "Stormy Weather" w. Ted Koehler m. Harold Arlen
• "Sweetheart Darlin'" w. Gus Kahn m. Herbert Stothart. Introduced by Marion Davies in the film Peg o' My Heart
• "Temptation" w. Arthur Freed m. Nacio Herb Brown
• "Thanks" w. Sam Coslow m. Arthur Johnston
• "There's a Cabin in the Pines" w.m. Billy Hill
• "There's a Little Bit of You in Every Love Song" w. E. Y. Harburg m. Sammy Fain. From the film Moonlight and Pretzels
• "There's Something About a Soldier" w.m. Noel Gay
• "They Call Me Sister Honky Tonk" w.m. Gladys DuBois, Ben Ellison & Harvey O. Brooks
• "Tony's Wife" w. Harold Adamson m. Burton Lane
• "The Touch of Your Hand" w. Otto Harbach m. Jerome Kern
• "Twenty Million People" w. Sam Coslow m. Arthur Johnston from the film Hello, Everybody!
• "We'll All Go Riding on a Rainbow" Harry M. Woods
• "We'll Make Hay While the Sun Shines" w. Arthur Freed m. Nacio Herb Brown
• "We're in the Money" w. Al Dubin m. Harry Warren introduced by Ginger Rogers in the film Gold Diggers of 1933
• "Weep No More, My Baby" w. Edward Heyman m. John Green. Introduced by Billy House and Una Vilon in the musical Murder at the Vanities
• "When It's Lamp Lighting Time in the Valley" w.m. Joe Lyons, Sam C. Hart & The Vagabonds
• "When You Were the Girl on the Scooter" w. Mack Gordon m. Harry Revel. Introduced by Constance Cummings & Eddie Foy Jr. with Abe Lyman & his Orchestra in the fil Broadway Thru a Keyhole
• "White Jazz" m. Gene Clifford
• "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?" w. Frank Churchill & Ann Ronell m. Frank Churchill
• "Yesterdays" w. Otto Harbach m. Jerome Kern
• "You Are My Past, Present and Future" w. Mack Gordon m. Harry Revel. Introduced by Russ Columbo in the film Broadway Thru a Keyhole
• "You Gotta Be a Football Hero" w.m. Al Lewis, Al Sherman & Buddy Fields
• "You Ought to See Sally on Sunday" w.m. Harry M. Woods
• "Young and Healthy" w. Al Dubin m. Harry Warren
• "Your Mother's Son-In-Law" w. Mann Holiner m. Alberta Nichols
• "You're My Thrill" w. Sidney Clare m. Jay Gorney
• "You've Got Me Crying Again" w. Charles Newman m. Isham Jones

Biggest hit songs

The following songs achieved the highest chart positions in the limited set of charts available for 1933.

#	Artist	Title	Year	Country	Chart Entries
1	Ethel Waters	Stormy Weather	1933		US Billboard 1 - 1933 (11 weeks), US BB 3 of 1933, POP 4 of 1933, RYM 8 of 1933, nuTsie 15 of 1930s, Brazil 37 of 1933, Acclaimed 1896 (1933)
2	Duke Ellington	Sophisticated Lady	1933		RYM 1 of 1933, US BB 2 of 1933, US Billboard 3 - 1933 (16 weeks), POP 3 of 1933, Brazil 78 of 1934, Song of 1940
3	Bing Crosby	Shadow Waltz	1933		US Billboard 1 - 1933 (8 weeks), POP 9 of 1933, Europe 39 of the 1930s (1933), Brazil 64 of 1933, RYM 80 of 1933
4	Dick Powell	Gold Digger's Song (We're in The Money)	1933		US BB 1 of 1933, POP 1 of 1933, US Billboard 18 - 1933 (1 week)
5	Bing Crosby	You're Getting to Be a Habit	1933		US Billboard 1 - 1933 (14 weeks), US BB 10 of 1933, POP 16 of 1933, Europe 42 of the 1930s (1933)

Top hit records

• "Did You Ever See A Dream Walking?" by Eddy Duchin
• "Just An Echo In the Valley" by Bing Crosby; also version by Rudy Vallee
• "Lazy Bones" by Ted Lewis Band; also version by Don Redman's band
• "Let's All Sing Like the Birdies Sing" by Ben Bernie
• "Night and Day" by Eddy Duchin; also version by Leo Reisman's band with vocal by Fred Astaire
• "Shadow Waltz" by Bing Crosby
• "Stormy Weather" by Ethel Waters; also version by Duke Ellington's band
• "You're Getting To Be A Habit With Me" by Bing Crosby with Guy Lombardo's Royal Canadians; also version by Ben Selvin's band

Classical music

• Kurt Atterberg – A Varmland Rhapsody
• Carlos Chávez – Sinfonía de Antígona (Symphony No. 1)
• Paul Creston – Seven Theses for piano
• Luigi Dallapiccola – Partita
• Robert M. Helmschrott – Concerto for Organ and Percussion "Lamento"
• Gustav Holst – Lyric Movement
• Gian Francesco Malipiero
  • Sette Invenzioni, for orchestra
  • Symphony No. 1
  • Steel, film score
• Igor Markevitch – Psaume for soprano, female chorus and orchestra
• Xavier Montsalvatge – Tres Impromptus
• Silvestre Revueltas –
  • Esquinas, revised version, for orchestra
  • Janitzio, for orchestra
  • Ocho por radio, for chamber ensemble
  • El renacuajo paseador
  • Toccata (sin fuga), for violin and chamber orchestra
  • Troka
• Arnold Schoenberg –
  • Concerto for Cello and Orchestra (after Monn)
  • Concerto for String Quartet and Orchestra (after Handel, Concerto Grosso, op. 6, no. 7)
  • Drei Lieder, op. 48
• Dmitri Shostakovich – Piano Concerto No. 1
• Igor Stravinsky – Perséphone

Opera

• Aaron Avshalomov – The Twilight Hour of Yan Kuei Fei
• Joseph Canteloube – Vercingétorix
• Louis Gruenberg – The Emperor Jones
• Gian Francesco Malipiero - La favola del figlio cambiato
• Richard Strauss – Arabella (1 July, Sächsisches Staatstheater, Dresden)
• Alexander Zemlinsky – Der Kreidekreis (14 October, Zürich Opera House)

Musical theater

• As Thousands Cheer (Music and Lyrics: Irving Berlin Book: Moss Hart). Broadway revue opened at the Music Box Theatre on September 30 and ran for 400 performances
• Ball At The Savoy (Music: Paul Abraham (composer) Lyrics and Book: Oscar Hammerstein II). London production opened at the Drury Lane Theatre on September 8 and ran for 96 performances.
• Bezauberndes Fräulein (Music and libretto: Ralph Benatzky). Musical comedy opened at the Volkstheater, Vienna on May 24.
• Command Performance London production opened at the Saville Theatre on October 17 and ran for 31 performances
• Gay Divorce (Music and Lyrics: Cole Porter Book: Dwight Taylor). London production opened at the Palace Theatre on November 2 and ran for 180 performances
• Give Me a Ring London production opened at the Hippodrome on June 22 and ran for 239 performances.
• He Wanted Adventure London production opened at the Saville Theatre on March 28 and ran for 152 performances
• Murder at the Vanities – music by Victor Young. Broadway production opened at the New Amsterdam Theatre on September 8 and moved to the Majestic Theatre on November 6 for a total run of 207 performances
• Music in the Air London production opened at His Majesty's Theatre on May 19 and ran for 275 performances
• Nice Goings On London production opened at the Strand Theatre on September 13 and ran for 221 performances
• Nymph Errant (Music and Lyrics: Cole Porter Book: Romney Brent). London production opened at the Adelphi Theatre on October 6 and ran for 154 performances
• Pardon My English Broadway production opened at the Majestic Theatre on January 20 and ran for 43 performances
• Roberta (Music: Jerome Kern Lyrics and Book: Otto Harbach). Broadway production opened at the New Amsterdam Theatre on November 18 and ran for 295 performances
• That's a Pretty Thing (Music: Noel Gay Lyrics: Desmond Carter Book: Stanley Lupino) London production opened at Daly's Theatre on November 22 and ran for 103 performances

Musical films

• 42nd Street, starring Warner Baxter, Bebe Daniels, George Brent, Ruby Keeler, Una Merkel, Ginger Rogers and Dick Powell
• Adorable, starring Janet Gaynor, Henry Garat and C. Aubrey Smith. Directed by William Dieterle.
• Aunt Sally, starring Cicely Courtneidge and Sam Hardy and featuring Debroy Somers and his Band. Directed by Tim Whelan.
• A Bedtime Story, starring Maurice Chevalier, Helen Twelvetrees, Edward Everett Horton and Baby LeRoy.
• A Song Goes Round the World, starring Joseph Schmidt
• Bitter Sweet, starring Anna Neagle, Fernand Gravey and Ivy St Helier
• Born Lucky, starring Talbot O'Farrell and René Ray
• Broadway Thru a Keyhole starring Constance Cummings, Russ Columbo, Paul Kelly, Eddie Foy Jr., Blossom Seeley, Gregory Ratoff and Texas Guinan and featuring Frances Williams with Abe Lyman & his Orchestra. Directed by Lowell Sherman.
• College Humor released July 5, starring Bing Crosby, Jack Oakie, Mary Carlisle, George Burns, Gracie Allen and Mary Kornman.
• Dancing Lady starring Joan Crawford, Clark Gable, Franchot Tone and Robert Benchley and featuring Fred Astaire, Art Jarrett and Nelson Eddy.
• Facing the Music, starring Stanley Lupino and Jose Collins
• Flying Down to Rio released December 22, starring Dolores Del Rio, Gene Raymond, Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire.
• Footlight Parade, starring James Cagney, Joan Blondell, Ruby Keeler and Dick Powell
• Going Hollywood released December 22 starring Marion Davies and Bing Crosby
• Gold Diggers of 1933, starring Warren William, Joan Blondell, Aline MacMahon, Ruby Keeler, Dick Powell and Ginger Rogers
• The Good Companions, starring Jessie Matthews, Edmund Gwenn and John Gielgud
• Happy, starring Stanley Lupino, Laddie Cliff, Will Fyffe and Harry Tate.
• Hello, Everybody!, starring Kate Smith, Randolph Scott and Sally Blane. Directed by William A. Seiter.
• I Am Suzanne, starring Lilian Harvey, Gene Raymond and Leslie Banks. Directed by Rowland V. Lee.
• Let's Fall in Love, starring Edmund Lowe, Ann Sothern and Art Jarrett
• Melody Cruise, starring Charles Ruggles. Phil Harris and Helen Mack
• Moonlight And Pretzels released August 1, starring Leo Carrillo and Mary Brian
• My Weakness starring Lilian Harvey, Lew Ayres, Charles Butterworth, Sid Silvers and Harry Langdon. Directed by David Butler.
• Roman Scandals starring Eddie Cantor, Ruth Etting, Gloria Stuart, David Manners and Edward Arnold. Directed by Frank Tuttle.
• The Shady Lady starring Phyllis Haver, Robert Armstrong, Louis Wolheim and Russell Gleason. Directed by Edward H. Griffith.
• She Done Him Wrong starring Mae West and Cary Grant.
• Sitting Pretty starring Jack Oakie, Jack Haley, Ginger Rogers, Thelma Todd and The Pickens Sisters
• Take A Chance starring James Dunn, Cliff Edwards, June Knight, Lillian Roth, Charles "Buddy" Rogers and Marjorie Main.
• This Week of Grace starred Gracie Fields
• Too Much Harmony released on September 23 starring Bing Crosby, Jack Oakie and Kitty Kelly.
• Torch Singer starring Claudette Colbert, Ricardo Cortez and Lyda Roberti
• The Way to Love starring Maurice Chevalier, Ann Dvorak and Edward Everett Horton. Directed by Norman Taurog.

Births

• January 17 – Dalida, singer (d. 1987)
• January 18 – Ray Dolby, inventor of the Dolby System
• January 20 – Ronald Townson, American singer and actor (The 5th Dimension) (d. 2001)
• January 23 – Chita Rivera, Broadway star
• January 29 – Sacha Distel, singer (d. 2004)
• February 7 – Stuart Burrows, operatic tenor
• February 17 – Bobby Lewis, R&B singer
• February 18 – Yoko Ono, widow of John Lennon and mother of Sean Lennon
• February 21 – Nina Simone, soul singer (d. 2003)
• February 22 – Katharine, Duchess of Kent, patron of music
• March 9 – Lloyd Price, rock & roll musician
• March 13 – Mike Stoller, songwriter
• March 14 – Quincy Jones, arranger
• March 15 – Roy Clark, country musician
• March 28 – Tete Montoliu, jazz pianist (d. 1997)
• April 8 – Fred Ebb, lyricist (d. 2004)
• April 12 – Montserrat Caballé, operatic soprano
• April 14 – Buddy Knox, singer and songwriter (d. 1999)
• April 24 – Freddie Scott, songwriter and singer (d. 2007)
• April 25 – Jerry Leiber, songwriter
• April 29 – Rod McKuen, songwriter (d. 2015)
• April 30 – Willie Nelson, country singer and songwriter
• May 3 – James Brown, soul singer (d. 2006)
• May 21 – Maurice André, trumpeter (d. 2012)
• May 22 – Don Estelle, actor and singer (d. 2003)
• June 17 – Christian Ferras, violinist (d. 1982)
• June 26 – Claudio Abbado, conductor (d. 2014)
• July 10 – Eileen Rodgers, US singer (d. 2003)
• July 23 – Bert Convy, entertainer (d. 1991)
• July 27 – Nick Reynolds (The Kingston Trio)
• July 29 – Anne Rogers, English actress, singer and dancer
• August 8 – Joe Tex, soul singer-songwriter (d. 1982)
• August 15
  • Bill Pinkney (The Drifters)
  • Bobby Helms, singer (d. 1997)
  • Rita Hunter, operatic soprano (d. 2001)
• August 17 – Mark Dinning, singer (d. 1986)
• August 21 – Janet Baker, operatic mezzo-soprano
• September 1 – Conway Twitty, country singer (d. 1993)
• September 8 – Asha Bhosle, Bollywood singer
• September 14 – Harve Presnell, actor and singer (d. 2009)
• September 15 – Pat Barrett (The Crewcuts)
• September 17 – Dorothy Loudon, US singer (d. 2003)
• September 18 – Jimmie Rodgers, US pop singer
• September 25 – Ian Tyson (Ian & Sylvia)
• October 10 – Daniel Massey, star of musical theatre (d. 1998)
• October 17 – The Singing Nun (d. 1985)
• October 21 – Georgia Brown, English actress and singer
• October 27 – Floyd Cramer, pianist (d. 1997)
• November 3 – John Barry, film score composer (d. 2011)
• November 6 – Joseph Pope (The Tams)
• November 16 – Garnett Mimms, soul singer
• November 23 – Krzysztof Penderecki, composer
• November 26 – Robert Goulet, singer and actor (d. 2007)
• November 29 – John Mayall, blues musician
• December 6 – Henryk Górecki, composer (d. 2010)
• December 13 – Wayne Bennett, blues guitarist (d. 1992)

Deaths

• January 6 – Vladimir de Pachmann, pianist (born 1848)
• January 10 – Roberto Mantovani, violinist (born 1854)
• January 12 - Václav Suk, violinist, conductor and composer (born 1861)
• January 16 – Willy Burmester, violinist (born 1869)
• January 18 – Oskar Zawisza, priest and composer (born 1878)
• February 12 – Henri Duparc, composer (born 1848)
• February 17 - Toktogul Satylganov, improvising poet and singer (born 1864)
• February 18 – Arnold Mendelssohn, composer and music teacher (born 1855)
• March 26 – Eddie Lang, jazz musician (born 1902)
• April 4 – Ewald Straesser, composer (born 1867)
• April 9 – Sigfrid Karg-Elert, composer (born 1877)
• April 12 - Lola Artôt de Padilla, operatic soprano (born c.1876)
• May 10 – Selma Kurz, operatic soprano (born 1874)
• May 26 – Jimmie Rodgers country singer, "The Singing Brakeman" (born 1897)
• June 19 – Yossele Rosenblatt, cantor and composer (born 1882)
• June 24 – Matilda Sissieretta Joyner Jones, operatic soprano and vaudeville singer (born 1869)
• July 6 – Robert Kajanus, conductor and composer (born 1856)
• July 14 – Raymond Roussel, author and pianist (born 1877)
• July 15 – Freddie Keppard, jazz musician (born 1890)
• July 26 – Charles Tindley, gospel music composer (born 1851)
• August 3 - Arthur Collins, singer (born 1864)
• August 29 – Georgi Conus, composer (born 1862)
• September 7 – Marcel Journet, operatic bass (born 1867)
• September 10
  • Adrian Ross, English lyricist (born 1859)
  • Giuseppe Campari, opera singer and racing driver (born 1892) (in a motor racing accident)
• October – Joan Winters, Broadway dancer (born 1909) (murdered)
• October 6 – Zakaria Paliashvili, composer (born 1871)
• October 16 – Maurice Renaud, operatic baritone (born 1860)
• October 23 - Orville Harrold, operatic tenor (born 1878)
• October 27 – Julius Klengel, cellist (born 1859)
• December 1 – Blind Blake, blues musician (born c. 1893)
• December 7 – Jan Brandts Buys, composer (born 1868)
• date unknown
  • Albert "Sonny" Cunha, musician, composer and bandleader (born 1879)
  • Manuel Torre, flamenco singer (born 1878)