1946 in music

Specific locations

• 1946 in British music
• 1946 in Norwegian music

  Specific genres

• 1946 in country music
• 1946 in jazz

  Events

• January 6 – A somewhat revised and streamlined revival of Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II's Show Boat opens on Broadway at the Ziegfeld Theatre, the same theatre at which the original production played back in 1927. This production features newly designed sets and costumes, new, more extended choreography, and a new song, Nobody Else But Me, by Kern and Hammerstein.
• February – Kathleen Ferrier's recording contract with Columbia Records expires, and she transfers to Decca.
• August – American singer Doris Day leaves Les Brown's band and begins her solo career.
• September 11 – The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra holds its first rehearsal.
• Formation of Bamberg Symphony and Southwest German Radio Symphony Orchestras.
• Al Jolson rerecords his old hits for the soundtrack of his Columbia biopic The Jolson Story, and becomes a superstar to the post-war generation too.
• B. B. King begins working as a professional musician in Memphis, Tennessee.
• Chet Atkins makes his first appearance at the Grand Ole Opry.
• Georgia Gibbs signs with the Majestic label.
• Bill Haley's professional musical career begins as a member of The Down Homers. His earliest known recordings are made during a Down Homers radio performance, but will not be released until 2006.
• John Serry Sr. appears as the featured accordion soloist on the Gordon MacRae radio hit Star of Stars.

Albums released

• Annie Get Your Gun – Original Broadway Cast
• Show Boat – Original Broadway Cast
• Frank Sinatra Conducts the Music of Alec Wilder – Frank Sinatra
• Lombardoland – Guy Lombardo
• Louis Jordan And His Tympany Five – Louis Jordan
• Manhattan Tower – Gordon Jenkins
• The Voice of Frank Sinatra – Frank Sinatra
• Merry Christmas Music – Perry Como
• What We So Proudly Hail – Bing Crosby
• Favorite Hawaiian Songs, Vol. One – Bing Crosby
• Favorite Hawaiian Songs, Vol. Two – Bing Crosby
• Blue Skies – Bing Crosby
• Don't Fence Me In – Bing Crosby and The Andrews Sisters

  Biggest hit songs

#	Artist	Title	Year	Country	Chart Entries
1	Perry Como	"Prisoner of Love"	1946		US 1940s 1 – March 1946, US BB 1 of 1946, US 1 for 3 weeks May 1946, POP 17 of 1946, Europe 73 Of The 1940s
2	Frank Sinatra	"Five Minutes More"	1946		US 1940s 1 – August 1946, US 1 for 2 weeks September 1946, POP 10 of 1946, Europe 11 of the 1940s, US BB 15 of 1946, RYM 43 of 1946
3	Vaughn Monroe	"Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!"	1946		US 1940s 1 – December 1945, US 1 for 5 weeks January 1946, US BB 4 of 1946, POP 4 of 1946, Europe 48 of the 1940s
4	Nat King Cole	" For Sentimental Reasons"	1946		US 1940s 1 – November 1946, US 1 for 1 weeks February 1947, US BB 3 of 1946, POP 13 of 1946, RYM 15 of 1946
5	The Ink Spots	"To Each His Own"	1946		US 1940s 1 – Sep 1946, US 1 for 1 weeks September 1946, US BB 8 of 1946, POP 24 of 1946, Europe 92 of the 1940s

Top hit records

• "A Fine Romance" by Martha Tilton and Johnny Mercer
• "Aren't You Glad You're You?" by Les Brown & His Orchestra featuring Doris Day
• "Candy" by Johnny Mercer, Jo Stafford & the Pied Pipers
• "Choo Choo Ch' Boogie" by Louis Jordan & his Tympany Five
• "The Christmas Song" by the King Cole Trio
• "The Coffee Song" by Frank Sinatra
• "Coming Home" by Dorothy Squires
• "Day By Day" by Frank Sinatra
• "Doin' What Comes Natur'lly" by Dinah Shore with Spade Cooley & his Orchestra
• "Five Minutes More", recorded by
• *Frank Sinatra
• *Tex Beneke-Glenn Miller Orchestra with vocal by Tex Beneke
• "Fools Rush In" by Jo Stafford
• " For Sentimental Reasons" by the King Cole Trio
• "The Gypsy", recorded by
• *The Ink Spots
• *Dinah Shore
• "Hawaiian War Chant" by Spike Jones & his City Slickers
• "Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop", recorded by
• *Lionel Hampton & his Orchestra
• *Tex Beneke-Glenn Miller Orchestra with vocal by Tex Beneke
• "Huggin' And Chalkin' " by Hoagy Carmichael
• "I Don't Know Enough About You" by Peggy Lee
• "I Dream Of You" by Archie Lewis and The Geraldo Strings
• "I Get A Kick Out Of You" by Margaret Whiting
• "I Got The Sun In The Morning by Les Brown & His Orchestra featuring Doris Day
• "I'll Be With You In Apple Blossom Time" by Jo Stafford
• "I'm a Big Girl Now" by Sammy Kaye & his Orchestra with vocal by Betty Barclay
• "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows" by Perry Como
• "Laughing On The Outside", recorded by
• *Dinah Shore
• *Andy Russell
• *Sammy Kaye & his Orchestra with vocal by Billy Williams
• "Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow", recorded by
• *Vaughn Monroe & his Orchestra with vocal by Vaughn Monroe
• *Woody Herman and his Orchestra with vocal by Woody Herman
• "Oh What It Seemed To Be", recorded by
• *Frankie Carle & his Orchestra with vocal by Marjorie Hughes
• *Frank Sinatra
• *Charlie Spivak & his Orchestra with vocal by Jimmy Saunders
• *Dick Haymes & Helen Forrest
• "The Old Lamplighter", recorded by
• *Kay Kyser & his Orchestra with vocal by Mike Douglas
• *Hal Derwin & his Orchestra
• *Sammy Kaye & his Orchestra with vocal by Billy Williams
• "Ole Buttermilk Sky", recorded by
• *Hoagy Carmichael
• *Helen Carroll and the Satisfiers
• *Paul Weston & his Orchestra with vocal by Matt Dennis
• *Kay Kyser & his Orchestra with vocal by Michael Douglas & the Campus Kids
• "One-Zy Two-Zy", recorded by
• *Freddy Martin & his Orchestra with vocal by The Martin Men
• *Phil Harris
• "Personality" by Johnny Mercer & The Pied Pipers
• "Petit Papa Noël" by Tino Rossi
• "Pretending" by Andy Russell
• "Prisoner of Love", recorded by
• *The Ink Spots
• *Perry Como
• "Rumors Are Flying", recorded by
• *Frankie Carle & his Orchestra with vocal by Marjorie Hughes
• *Andrews Sisters with Les Paul
• *Betty Rhodes
• *Tony Martin
• "Shoo Fly Pie and Apple Pan Dowdy", recorded by
• *Stan Kenton & his Orchestra with vocal by June Christy
• *Dinah Shore
• "Sioux City Sue" by Bing Crosby and The Jesters
• "South America, Take It Away", recorded by
• *Xavier Cugat & his Orchestra with vocal by Buddy Clark
• *Bing Crosby and The Andrews Sisters
• "Stone Cold Dead In The Market" by Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Jordan
• "Surrender" by Perry Como
• "Symphony", recorded by
• *Freddy Martin & his Orchestra with vocal by Clyde Rogers
• *Benny Goodman & his Orchestra with vocal by Liza Morrow
• *Bing Crosby
• *Jo Stafford
• "Take the A Train" by Duke Ellington
• "The Things We Did Last Summer", recorded by
• *Jo Stafford
• *Frank Sinatra
• *Oscar Peterson
• *Vaughn Monroe
• "They Say It's Wonderful", recorded by
• *Perry Como
• *Frank Sinatra
• "To Each His Own", recorded by
• *Eddy Howard
• *Tony Martin
• *The Modernaires with Paula Kelly
• *The Ink Spots
• *Freddy Martin & his Orchestra with vocal by Stuart Wade
• "We'll Gather Lilacs" by Geraldo and his Orchestra
• "Winter Wonderland" by Perry Como
• "You Won't Be Satisfied" by Les Brown & his Orchestra with vocal by Doris Day
• "You're The Top" by Paul Whiteman and his Orchestra

  Other recorded popular music

Published popular music

• "Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens" w.m. Alex Kramer & Joan Whitney
• "Ain't That Just Like A Woman?" w.m. Fleecie Moore & Claude Demetrius
• "All I Want For Christmas " w.m. Don Gardner
• "All The Cats Join In" A. Wilder, Ray Gilbert, E. Sauter
• "Along With Me" w.m. Harold Rome Introduced by Danny Scholl and Paula Bane in the musical Call Me Mister
• "The 'Ampstead Way" w. Johnny Burke m. Jimmy Van Heusen
• "The Anniversary Song" w.m. Al Jolson & Saul Chaplin
• "Anything You Can Do" w.m. Irving Berlin
• "Aren't You Kind Of Glad We Did?" w. Ira Gershwin m. George Gershwin. Introduced by Dick Haymes and Betty Grable in the 1947 film The Shocking Miss Pilgrim
• "Blue Moon of Kentucky" w.m. Bill Monroe
• "Bumble Boogie" m. Jack Fina
• "Changing My Tune" w. Ira Gershwin m. George Gershwin. Introduced by Betty Grable in the film The Shocking Miss Pilgrim.
• "The Christmas Song" w. Robert Wells m. Mel Tormé
• "Coax Me A Little Bit" w. Charles Tobias m. Nat Simon
• "The Coffee Song" w.m. Bob Hilliard & Dick Miles
• "Come Rain Or Come Shine" w. Johnny Mercer m. Harold Arlen
• "Country Style" w. Johnny Burke m. Jimmy Van Heusen
• "A Couple Of Song And Dance Men" w.m. Irving Berlin
• "Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans?" w.m. Eddie DeLange & Louis Alter. Introduced by Billie Holiday & Louis Armstrong in the 1947 film New Orleans.
• "Doin' What Comes Natur'lly" w.m. Irving Berlin
• "Everybody's Got A Laughing Place" Allie Wrubel
• "The Face on the Dime" w.m. Harold Rome. Introduced by Lawrence Winters in the musical revue Call Me Mister.
• "Feudin' And Fightin' " w. Al Dubin & Burton Lane m. Burton Lane
• "Five Minutes More" w. Sammy Cahn m. Jule Styne
• "For You, For Me, For Evermore" w. Ira Gershwin m. George Gershwin. Introduced by Dick Haymes in the 1947 film The Shocking Miss Pilgrim
• "A Gal In Calico" w. Leo Robin m. Arthur Schwartz. Introduced by Jack Carson, Sally Sweetland dubbing for Martha Vickers, and Dennis Morgan in the film The Time, the Place and the Girl.
• "The Girl That I Marry" w.m. Irving Berlin. Introduced by Ray Middleton in the musical Annie Get Your Gun and performed by Howard Keel in the 1950 film version.
• "Golden Earrings" w. Jay Livingston & Ray Evans m. Victor Young
• "The House Of Blue Lights" w.m. Don Raye & Freddie Slack
• "How Are Things In Glocca Morra?" w. E. Y. Harburg m. Burton Lane
• "Huggin' And Chalkin' " w.m. Clancy Hayes & Kermit Goell
• "I Got Lost In His Arms" w.m. Irving Berlin. Introduced by Ethel Merman in the musical Annie Get Your Gun.
• "I Got The Sun In The Morning" w.m. Irving Berlin. Introduced by Ethel Merman in the musical Annie Get Your Gun and performed by Betty Hutton in the 1950 film version.
• "I Guess I'll Get The Papers" w.m. Hughie Prince & Hal Kanner
• "If This Isn't Love" w. E. Y. Harburg m. Burton Lane
• "If You Smile at Me" w.m. Cole Porter. Introduced by Victoria Cordova in the musical Around the World
• "I'm A Lonely Little Petunia" w.m. John N. Kamano, William E. Faber & Maurice Merl
• "I'm An Indian Too" w.m. Irving Berlin
• "It's A Good Day" w.m. Peggy Lee & Dave Barbour
• "It's A Pity To Say Goodnight" w.m. Billy Reid
• "Laughing On The Outside" w. Ben Raleigh m. Bernie Wayne
• "Legalise My Name" w. Johnny Mercer m. Harold Arlen
• "Let The Good Times Roll" w.m. Fleecie Moore & Sam Theard
• "Linda" w.m. Jack Lawrence
• "Lost In The Stars" w. Maxwell Anderson m. Kurt Weill
• "Managua, Nicaragua" w. Albert Gamse m. Irving Fields
• "Military Life" aka "The Jerk Song" w.m. Harold Rome from the musical revue Call Me Mister
• "Moonshine Lullaby" w.m. Irving Berlin
• "Mr. Jackson from Jacksonville" m.w. Louis Armstrong, Claude Demetrius, Fritz Pollard
• "My Defenses Are Down" w.m. Irving Berlin
• "My Heart Is A Hobo" w. Johnny Burke m. Jimmy Van Heusen
• "My Sugar Is So Refined" w. Sylvia Dee m. Sidney Lippman
• "Old Devil Moon" w. E. Y. Harburg m. Burton Lane
• "The Old Lamp-Lighter" w. Charles Tobias m. Nat Simon
• "The Old Soft Shoe" w. Nancy Hamilton m. Morgan Lewis. Introduced by Ray Bolger in the revue Three to Make Ready.
• "Ole Buttermilk Sky" w.m. Hoagy Carmichael
• "On The Boardwalk In Atlantic City" w. Mack Gordon m. Josef Myrow
• "One-zy Two-zy" w.m. Dave Franklin & Irving Taylor
• "Open The Door, Richard" w. "Dusty" Fletcher & John Mason m. Jack McVea & Dan Howell
• "Put The Blame On Mame" w.m. Allan Roberts & Doris Fisher. Introduced by Anita Ellis dubbing for Rita Hayworth in the film Gilda.
• "A Rainy Night In Rio" w. Leo Robin m. Arthur Schwartz. Introduced by Dennis Morgan, Jack Carson, Janis Paige and Sally Sweetland dubbing for Martha Vickers in the film The Time, the Place and the Girl
• "The Red Ball Express" w.m. Harold Rome. Introduced by Lawrence Winters in the musical revue Call Me Mister.
• " Route 66" w.m. Bobby Troup
• "Rumors Are Flying" w.m. Bennie Benjamin & George David Weiss
• "Sooner Or Later" w. Ray Gilbert m. Charles Wolcott
• "South America, Take It Away" w.m. Harold Rome Introduced by Betty Garrett in the musical revue Call Me Mister.
• "Stella by Starlight" w. Ned Washington m. Victor Young
• "Stone Cold Dead in de Market" w.m. Wilmoth Houdini
• "A Sunday Kind of Love" w.m. Barbara Belle, Anita Leonard, Stan Rhodes & Louis Prima
• "Tenderly" w. Jack Lawrence m. Walter Gross
• "That's All Right" w.m. Arthur Crudup
• "There's Good Blues Tonight" Edna Osser, Glenn Osser
• "There's No Business Like Show Business" w.m. Irving Berlin
• "They Say It's Wonderful" w.m. Irving Berlin
• "The Things We Did Last Summer" w. Sammy Cahn m. Jule Styne
• "Time After Time" w. Sammy Cahn m. Jule Styne
• "To Each His Own" w. Ray Evans m. Jay Livingston
• "Uncle Remus Said" w.m. Johnny Lange, Hy Heath & Eliot Daniel
• "Valse" m. Tchaikovsky arr. John Serry, Sr.
• "La vie en rose" w. Mack David Édith Piaf m. Louiguy
• "When I Walk with You" w. John Latouche m. Duke Ellington. Introduced by Alfred Drake and Jet MacDonald in the musical Beggar's Holiday
• "Who Do You Love, I Hope" w.m. Irving Berlin
• "A Woman's Prerogative" w. Johnny Mercer m. Harold Arlen
• "You Call Everybody Darling" w.m. Sam Martin, Ben Trace & Clem Watts
• "You Can't Get A Man With A Gun" w.m. Irving Berlin
• "You Make Me Feel So Young" w. Mack Gordon m. Josef Myrow
• "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah" w. Ray Gilbert m. Allie Wrubel

  Classical music

Premieres

Compositions

• Malcolm Arnold – Symphony for Strings, Op. 13
• Arno Babadzhanian – Polyphonic Piano Sonata
• Benjamin Britten – Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra
• Aaron Copland – Symphony No. 3
• George Crumb – Poem; Seven Songs for voice and piano
• Gottfried von Einem – Dantons Tod
• Don Gillis – Symphony No. 5½, A Symphony for Fun
• Ruth Gipps – Symphony No. 2
• Jesús Guridi – Sinfonía Pirenaica
• Karl Amadeus Hartmann – Symphony No. 2 "Adagio"
• Herbert Howells – Gloucester Service
• Wojciech Kilar – Mazurka in E minor
• Erich Wolfgang Korngold – Cello Concerto
• Bohuslav Martinů – Symphony No. 5, H.310; Toccata e Due Canzoni; String Quartet No. 6, H.312
• Peter Mennin – Symphony No. 3
• Vincent Persichetti – Symphony No. 3
• Edmund Rubbra – Cello Sonata, Op. 60
• John Serry Sr. –
• * Fantasy in F for accordion.
• * Valse – music by Tchaikovsky arranged for accordion by Serry
• Roger Sessions – Symphony No. 2, Piano Sonata No. 2
• Igor Stravinsky – Concerto in D for Strings
• Michael Tippett – Little Music for string orchestra
• Heitor Villa-Lobos – String Quartet No. 10
• William Walton – String Quartet No. 2

  Opera

• Benjamin Britten – The Rape of Lucretia – chamber opera opened at Glyndebourne on July 12 with Kathleen Ferrier in the title rôle
• Gian Carlo Menotti – The Medium

  [Jazz]

Musical theater

• Annie Get Your Gun – Broadway production opened at the Imperial Theatre on May 16 and ran for 1147 performances
• Around the World Broadway production opened at the Adelphi Theatre on May 31 and ran for 75 performances
• Beggar's Holiday opened at the Broadway Theatre on December 26 and ran for 111 performances
• Burlesque Broadway revival opened at the Belasco Theatre on December 25 and ran for 439 performances
• Call Me Mister Broadway revue opened at the National Theatre on April 18 and ran for 734 performances
• Lute Song Broadway production opened at the Plymouth Theatre on February 6 and ran for 146 performances
• Show Boat – Broadway revival opened at the Ziegfeld Theatre on January 5 and ran for 418 performances
• Song of Norway London production opened at the Palace Theatre on March 7 and ran for 526 performances
• St. Louis Woman Broadway production opened at the Martin Beck Theatre on March 30 and ran for 113 performances
• Sweetest And Lowest London revue opened at the Ambassadors Theatre on May 9 and ran for 791 performances
• Three to Make Ready Broadway revue opened at the Adelphi Theatre on March 7 and ran for 327 performances.
• Yours Is My Heart Broadway production opened on September 5 at the Shubert Theatre and ran for 36 performances

  Musical films

• The Bamboo Blonde starring Frances Langford
• Breakfast in Hollywood starring Tom Breneman, Bonita Granville, Billie Burke and Zasu Pitts and featuring Andy Russell, The King Cole Trio and Spike Jones and his City Slickers. Directed by Harold D. Schuster.
• Cinderella Jones starring Joan Leslie, Robert Alda, S.Z. Sakall and Edward Everett Horton. Directed by Busby Berkeley.
• Do You Love Me released May 17, starring Maureen O'Hara, Dick Haymes and featuring Harry James and his Music Makers.
• Doll Face starring Vivian Blaine and Dennis O'Keefe and featuring Perry Como and Carmen Miranda. Directed by Lewis Seiler.
• Earl Carroll Sketchbook starring Constance Moore, William Marshall and Edward Everett Horton
• Easy to Wed starring Esther Williams, Van Johnson, Lucille Ball and Keenan Wynn. Directed by Eddie Buzzell.
• Gaiety George released July 22 starring Richard Greene and Ann Todd.
• The Harvey Girls
• Holiday In Mexico starring Jane Powell, José Iturbi, Walter Pidgeon, Roddy McDowall, Ilona Massey and Xavier Cugat. Directed by George Sidney.
• The Jolson Story
• London Town released September 30 starring Sid Fields, Greta Gynt, Petula Clark, Kay Kendall and Sonny Hale and featuring Tessie O'Shea and Beryl Davis.
• No Leave, No Love starring Van Johnson, Pat Kirkwood, Keenan Wynn and Marie Wilson, and featuring Xavier Cugat & his Orchestra and Guy Lombardo and his Orchestra. Directed by Charles Martin.
• Song Of The South
• St. Louis Woman
• Susie Steps Out starring David Bruce, Cleatus Caldwell and Margaret Dumont. Directed by Reginald Le Borg.
• Sweetheart of Sigma Chi starring Phil Regan, Elyse Knox and Phil Brito and featuring Frankie Carle & his Orchestra
• Swing Parade of 1946 starring Gale Storm, Phil Regan and The Three Stooges and featuring Connee Boswell and Louis Jordan. Directed by Phil Karlson.
• Tars and Spars starring Janet Blair, Alfred Drake and Sid Caesar.
• Three Little Girls in Blue starring June Haver, George Montgomery, Vivian Blaine, Celeste Holm and Vera Ellen. Directed by Bruce Humberstone.
• Till the Clouds Roll By
• The Time, the Place and the Girl released on December 28 starring Dennis Morgan, Jack Carson, Janis Paige and Martha Vickers.
• Ziegfeld Follies starring Fred Astaire, Lucille Ball, Lucille Bremer, Fanny Brice, Judy Garland, Kathryn Grayson, Lena Horne, Gene Kelly and Red Skelton. Directed by Vincente Minnelli.

  Births

• January 1 – Susannah McCorkle, American singer
• January 3 – John Paul Jones
• January 4 – Arthur Conley, soul singer
• January 6 – Syd Barrett
• January 7
• *Jann Wenner, publisher of Rolling Stone magazine
• *Andy Brown, drummer
• January 8 – Robby Krieger
• January 10 – Aynsley Dunbar, drummer
• January 11
• *Tony Kaye
• *Naomi Judd, country singer and songwriter
• January 16 – Katia Ricciarelli, operatic soprano
• January 19 – Dolly Parton, country singer and songwriter
• January 22 – Malcolm McLaren, impresario and founder of the Sex Pistols
• January 26 – Deon Jackson, soul singer
• January 27 – Nedra Talley
• January 28 – Rick Allen
• January 31 – Terry Kath
• February 1 – Carol Neblett operatic soprano
• February 6 – Kate McGarrigle, folk singer-songwriter
• February 7 – Sammy Johns, country singer-songwriter
• February 13 – Colin Matthews, composer
• February 17 – Dodie Stevens, pop singer
• February 20 – J. Geils, rock guitarist
• February 23 – Rusty Young, country rock musician
• February 24 – Jiří Bělohlávek, conductor
• March 1 – Tony Ashton, rock musician
• March 6
• *David Gilmour
• *Tony Klatka
• March 7
• *Peter Wolf
• *Matthew Fisher
• March 8 – Randy Meisner
• March 12 – Liza Minnelli, singer and actress
• March 15 – Howard E. Scott
• March 17
• *Harold Ray Brown
• *Michael Finnissy, composer and pianist
• March 19
• *Paul Atkinson
• *Ruth Pointer
• March 21 – Ray Dorset
• March 22 – Harry Vanda
• March 24 – Colin Petersen, drummer
• March 26 – William Onyeabor, electronic funk musician
• March 27 – Andy Bown,
• March 30 – Dave Ball
• April 1 – Ronnie Lane, singer-songwriter and guitarist
• April 3 – Dee Murray
• April 4 – Dave Hill
• April 11 – Bob Harris, disc jockey
• April 13
• *Al Green, soul singer
• *Jim Pons
• April 15 – Marsha Hunt, actress, singer and novelist
• April 16 – Pēteris Vasks, Latvian composer
• April 17 – Bill Kreutzmann
• April 18
• *Lenny Baker
• *Skip Spence
• May 1 – Jerry Weiss
• May 2 – Lesley Gore, singer
• May 9 – Clint Holmes, English-American singer-songwriter and game show host
• May 10
• *Donovan, folk singer
• *Dave Mason
• *Graham Gouldman, singer and songwriter
• May 11 – Plume Latraverse, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
• May 16 – Robert Fripp, guitarist, composer and record producer
• May 20 – Cher, singer and actress
• May 24 – Steve Upton, drummer
• May 25 – Siegfried Fietz, song composer
• June 1 – Jody Stecher, American singer
• June 3 – Eddie Holman, American singer and minister
• June 5 – Freddie Stone
• June 10 – Millie Small, singer
• June 11 – John Lawton
• June 15
• *Noddy Holder, English vocalist
• *Demis Roussos, Greek singer
• June 18 – Maria Bethânia, Brazilian singer
• June 25
• *Ian McDonald, musician and record producer
• *Allen Lanier
• June 30
• *Billy Brown
• *Iain Matthews, singer and songwriter
• July 9 – Bon Scott
• July 15 – Linda Ronstadt, singer
• July 18 – Tim Lynch
• July 19 – Alan Gorrie
• July 21 – Barry Whitwam
• July 22
• *Mireille Mathieu, singer
• *Stephen M. Wolownik, American musicologist
• July 23 – Andy Mackay, saxophonist, oboist and composer
• July 24 – Alan Whitehead
• July 28
• * Jonathan Edwards, folk musician and songwriter
• * Suzanne Stephens, clarinetist and basset-hornist
• July 30 – Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond
• July 31
• *Gary Lewis
• *Bob Welch
• August 1
• *Boz Burrell, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
• *Rick Coonce, American drummer
• August 10 – Peter Karrie, star of West End musical productions
• August 14 – Larry Graham
• August 15 – Jimmy Webb, songwriter
• August 19 – Beat Raaflaub, conductor
• August 23 – Keith Moon, drummer
• September 1
• *Gregg Errico
• *Barry Gibb, singer and songwriter
• September 4
• *Gary Duncan
• *Greg Elmore
• September 5
• *Dean Ford, singer
• *Freddie Mercury, lead singer
• *Loudon Wainwright III, singer-songwriter, humorist and actor
• September 9
• *Doug Ingle
• *Bruce Palmer
• *Billy Preston, singer and musician
• September 14 – Pete Agnew
• September 18 – Alan "Bam" King
• September 19 – John Coghlan, drummer
• September 20 – Finbarr Dwyer, accordionist and fiddler
• September 24 – Jerry Donahue
• September 28 – Helen Shapiro, pop singer
• September 30 – Sylvia Peterson, pop singer
• October 10
• *John Prine, country folk singer-songwriter
• *Willard White, opera singer
• October 11 – Gary Mallaber, drummer
• October 13 – Dorothy Moore, R&B singer
• October 14
• *Justin Hayward, guitarist, singer and songwriter
• *Dan McCafferty
• October 15 – Richard Carpenter
• October 18 – Howard Shore, film composer
• October 19 – Keith Reid
• October 21 – Lee Loughnane
• October 22 – Eddie Brigati
• October 24 – Jerry Edmonton
• October 26 – Keith Hopwood
• October 29 – Peter Green, blues rock guitarist and singer-songwriter
• October 30
• *René Jacobs, conductor and countertenor singer
• *Chris Slade
• November 1 – Ric Grech, vocalist & multi-instrumentalist , bassist
• November 5
• *Herman Brood, Dutch rock 'n' roll artist
• *Gram Parsons, country musician
• November 8 – Roy Wood, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist
• November 11 – Chip Hawkes, vocalist and guitarist
• November 17 – Martin Barre, guitarist
• November 19 – Joe Correro Jr., drummer
• November 20 – Duane Allman, lead & slide guitarist
• November 22 – Aston Barrett, reggae musician
• November 29 – Eamonn Campbell, guitarist & mandolin player
• December 1 – Gilbert O'Sullivan, singer-songwriter
• December 5
• *José Carreras, opera singer
• *Andy Kim, singer
• December 6 – Emílio Santiago
• December 10
• *Gloria Loring, American singer and actress
• *Walter Orange
• December 12 – Clive Bunker
• December 14 – Jane Birkin, UK actress and singer
• December 15 – Carmine Appice
• December 16
• *Benny Andersson, singer-songwriter
• *Trevor Pinnock, conductor and harpsichordist
• December 21
• *Christopher Keene, American conductor
• *Kevin Peek, Australian guitarist and songwriter
• *Carl Wilson
• December 23 – Edita Gruberová, opera singer
• December 24 – Jan Akkerman, guitarist
• December 25 – Jimmy Buffett, singer-songwriter, author, businessman and film producer
• December 27 – Lenny Kaye
• December 28 – Edgar Winter, multi-instrumentalist and singer
• December 29 – Marianne Faithfull, singer and actress
• December 30 – Patti Smith, poet, and singer-songwriter

  Deaths

• January 7 – Adamo Didur, operatic bass, 77
• January 10 – Harry Von Tilzer, songwriter, 73
• January 18 – Lew Pollack, US composer, 50
• February 2 – Eduard Bass, singer and cabaret director, 58
• February 15 – Putney Dandridge, jazz musician, 44
• February 20 – Hugh Allen, organist and choral conductor, 76
• April 5 – Vincent Youmans, US composer, 47
• May 25 – Patty Hill, co-writer of "Happy Birthday to You", 78
• June 1 – Leo Slezak, operatic tenor, 72
• July 14 – Riley Puckett, country musician, 52
• July 20 – Tricky Sam Nanton, trombonist, 42
• August 8 – Maria Barrientos, coloratura soprano, 63
• August 24 – Antonio Paoli, operatic tenor, 75
• August 31 – Paul von Klenau, Danish composer and conductor, 63
• September 3 – Moriz Rosenthal, pianist, 83
• September 4 – Paul Lincke, composer, 79
• September 16 – Mamie Smith, vaudeville singer, dancer, pianist and actress, 63
• October 9 – Enrica Clay Dillon, American opera singer, opera director, and voice teacher, 65
• October 12 – Giuseppe Adami, opera librettist, 67
• October 16 – Sir Granville Bantock, composer, 78
• November 5 – Zygmunt Stojowski, composer and pianist, 76
• November 14 – Manuel de Falla, composer, 69
• November 30 – , ragtime composer, 63
• December 6 – Maximilian Steinberg, composer and teacher, 63
• December 28 – Carrie Jacobs-Bond, US songwriter, 84
• December 30 – Charles Wakefield Cadman, composer, 65
• date unknown – Teddy Brown, xylophone player
• date unknown – Armanda Degli Abbati, Italian opera singer