1943 in music

Events

January 1

Frank Sinatra appears at The Paramount causing a mob of hysterical bobby-soxers to flood Times Square and blocking midtown New York City traffic for hours

Sinatra becomes a featured singer on the popular Your Hit Parade radio program, and the co-star of the series Broadway Bandbox. By fall, he has left Bandbox to star in his own series Songs By Sinatra.

January 23 - Duke Ellington's orchestra performs for the first time at New York's Carnegie Hall. During the concert, which raises money for war relief, Ellington premieres his most famous and revered extended composition, Black, Brown, and Beige.

June 17 - Perry Como signs with RCA

November 14 - Leonard Bernstein, substituting at the last minute for ailing principal conductor Bruno Walter, directs the New York Philharmonic in its regular Sunday afternoon broadcast concert on CBS. The event receives front-page coverage in the New York Times the following day.

Jo Stafford and The Pied Pipers sign with the newly formed Capitol Records, (having broken from the Tommy Dorsey band in 1942)

Fredda Gibson takes her professional name, "Georgia Gibbs", and began appearing on the popular Camel Caravan radio program, hosted by Jimmy Durante and Gary Moore (It was Moore who bestowed the famous nickname "Her Nibs, Miss Georgia Gibbs" upon her. The nickname is a playful reference to her diminutive stature of barely over 5 feet. )

Carter Family disbands

Trio Lescano are imprisoned on allegations of espionage

William Schuman's cantata A Free Song wins the first Pulitzer Prize for Music

Albums released

Oklahoma - Original Broadway Cast

Reveille with Beverly - Original soundtrack

Biggest hit songs

The following songs achieved the highest chart positions in the limited set of charts available for 1943.

Top hit records

"As Time Goes By" by Rudy Vallee

"Boogie Woogie" by Tommy Dorsey

"Brazil" by Xavier Cugat

"Comin' in on a Wing and a Prayer" by The Song Spinners

"Don't Get Around Much Anymore" by The Ink Spots

"Goodbye Sue" by Perry Como

"I Had The Craziest Dream" by Harry James

"I've Heard That Song Before" by Harry James

"I'm Old Fashioned" by Fred Astaire

"In the Blue of the Evening" by Tommy Dorsey

"Juke Box Saturday Night" by Glenn Miller

"Let's Get Lost" by Vaughn Monroe

"Moonlight Becomes You" by Bing Crosby

"Paper Doll" by Mills Brothers

"People Will Say We're in Love" by Frank Sinatra

"Pistol Packin' Mama" by Al Dexter

"Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition" by Kay Kyser and His Orchestra

"Stormy Weather" by Lena Horne

"Sunday, Monday or Always" by Bing Crosby

"Taking a Chance On Love" by Benny Goodman

"That Old Black Magic" by Glenn Miller

"There Are Such Things" by Tommy Dorsey

"Velvet Moon" by Harry James

"When the Lights Go On Again" by Vaughn Monroe

"Why Don't You Do Right?" by Benny Goodman

"You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To" by Dinah Shore

"You'll Never Know" by Dick Haymes

"Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart" by Judy Garland

Published popular music

"All Er Nuthin'" w. Oscar Hammerstein II m. Richard Rodgers

"Amor" w. (Eng) Sunny Skylar (Sp) Ricardo Lopez Mendez m. Gabriel Ruiz

"Artistry In Rhythm" m. Stan Kenton

"Beat Out Dat Rhythm On a Drum" w. Oscar Hammerstein II m. Georges Bizet

"Besame Mucho" w. Sunny Skylar m. Conseulo Velázquez

"By the River of the Roses" w. Marty Symes m. Joe Burke

"Candlelight and Wine" w. Harold Adamson m. Jimmy McHugh. Introduced by Georgia Carroll and Harry Babbitt in the film Around the World

"Close to You" w.m. Al Hoffman, Jerry Livingstone & Carl Lampl

"Comin' in on a Wing and a Prayer" w. Harold Adamson m. Jimmy McHugh

"Deacon Jones" w.m. Johnny Lange, Hy Heath & Richard Loring

"Do Nothin' Till You Hear from Me" w. Bob Russell m. Duke Ellington

"Don't Let's Be Beastly To The Germans" w.m. Noël Coward

"Don't Sweetheart Me" w. Charles Tobias m. Cliff Friend

"The Farmer and the Cowman" w. Oscar Hammerstein II m. Richard Rodgers from the musical Oklahoma!

"A Fellow on a Furlough" w.m. Bobby Worth

"Foolish Heart" w. Ogden Nash m. Kurt Weill. Introduced by Mary Martin in the musical One Touch Of Venus

"Goodbye, Sue" w.m. Jimmy Rule, Lou Ricca & Jules Loman

"Have I Stayed Away Too Long?" w.m. Frank Loesser

"Hit the Road to Dreamland" w. Johnny Mercer m. Harold Arlen

"How Much I Love You" w. Ogden Nash m. Kurt Weill. Introduced by Kenny Baker in the musical One Touch Of Venus

"I Cain't Say No" w. Oscar Hammerstein II m. Richard Rodgers

"I Couldn't Sleep A Wink Last Night" w. Harold Adamson m. Jimmy McHugh

"I Love You" w. Robert Wright & George Forrest m. Grieg

"I Sustain the Wings" m. Glenn Miller, Chummy MacGregor, Norman Leyden & Bill Meyers

"If You Please" w. Johnny Burke m. Jimmy Van Heusen

"I'll Be Home For Christmas" w.m. Kim Gannon, Walter Kent & Buck Ram

"I'm a Stranger Here Myself" w. Ogden Nash m. Kurt Weill. Introduced by Mary Martin in the musical One Touch Of Venus

"I'm Going to Get Lit Up When the Lights Go On In London" w.m. Hubert Gregg

"I'm Riding for a Fall" w. Frank Loesser m. Arthur Schwartz. Introduced by Dennis Morgan and Joan Leslie in the film Thank Your Lucky Stars

"It Could Happen to You" w. Johnny Burke m. Jimmy Van Heusen

"It's a Scandal! It's a Outrage!" w. Oscar Hammerstein II m. Richard Rodgers. From the musical Oklahoma!

"Johnny Zero" w. Mack David m. Vee Lawnhurst

"A Journey to a Star" w. Leo Robin m. Harry Warren. Introduced by Alice Faye in the film The Gang's All Here

"Kansas City" w. Oscar Hammerstein II m. Richard Rodgers

"Little Ships Will Sail Again" w.m. Jack O'Hagan

"A Lovely Way to Spend an Evening" w. Harold Adamson m. Jimmy McHugh

"Mairzy Doats" w.m. Milton Drake, Al Hoffman & Jerry Livingston

"Many a New Day" w. Oscar Hammerstein II m. Richard Rodgers

"La Mer" w.m. Charles Trenet

"Moonlight in Vermont" w. John Blackburn m. Karl Suessdorf

"My Heart Tells Me" w. Mack Gordon m. Harry Warren

"My Shining Hour" w. Johnny Mercer m. Harold Arlen

"No Love, No Nothin' " w. Leo Robin m. Harry Warren. Introduced by Alice Faye in the film The Gang's All Here

"Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'"' w. Oscar Hammerstein II m. Richard Rodgers

"Oklahoma!" w. Oscar Hammerstein II m. Richard Rodgers

"One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)" w. Johnny Mercer m. Harold Arlen

"Opus No. 1" w. Sid Garris m. Sy Oliver

"Out of My Dreams" w. Oscar Hammerstein II m. Richard Rodgers

"Pedro the Fisherman" w. Harold Purcell m. Harry Parr-Davies

"People Will Say We're In Love" w. Oscar Hammerstein II m. Richard Rodgers

"Pore Jud is Daid" w. Oscar Hammerstein II m. Richard Rodgers

"Rosie the Riveter" w.m. Redd Evans & John Jacob Loeb

"San Fernando Valley" w.m. Gordon Jenkins

"Say a Prayer for the Boys Over There" w. Herb Magidson m. Jimmy McHugh. Introduced by Deanna Durbin in the film Hers to Hold

"Shoo Shoo Baby" w.m. Phil Moore

"Silver Wings In The Moonlight" w.m. Hughie Charles, Sonny Miller & Leo Towers

"So Tired" w.m. Russ Morgan & Jack Stuart

"Speak Low" w. Ogden Nash m. Kurt Weill. w. Ogden Nash m. Kurt Weill. Introduced by Mary Martin and Kenny Baker in the musical One Touch Of Venus. Performed in the 1948 film version by Dick Haymes, and Eileen Wilson dubbing for Ava Gardner.

"Star Eyes" w.m. Don Raye & Gene De Paul

"Straighten Up and Fly Right" w.m. Nat King Cole & Irving Mills

"Sunday, Monday Or Always" w. Johnny Burke m. Jimmy Van Heusen

"Take It Easy" w.m. Albert De Brue, Irving Tayor & Vic Mizzy. Introduced in the 1944 musical film Two Girls and a Sailor by Virginia O'Brien, Lee Wilde, Lyn Wilde, and Lina Romay with Xavier Cugat and His Orchestra

"The Surrey with the Fringe on Top" w. Oscar Hammerstein II m. Richard Rodgers

"That's Him" w. Ogden Nash m. Kurt Weill w. Ogden Nash m. Kurt Weill. Introduced by Mary Martin in the musical One Touch Of Venus. Performed in the 1948 film version by Eileen Wilson (dubbing for Ava Gardner), Olga San Juan and Eve Arden.

"They're Either Too Young or Too Old" w. Frank Loesser m. Arthur Schwartz

"Tico-Tico" w. (Eng) Ervin Drake (Port) Aloysio Oliviera m. Zequinha Abreu

"To Keep My Love Alive" w. Lorenz Hart m. Richard Rodgers

"Two Very Ordinary People" Carr, Taylor

"Vict'ry Polka" w. Sammy Cahn m. Jule Styne

"What Do You Do In the Infantry?" w.m. Frank Loesser

"When Can I Have a Banana Again?" Mills, Rogers, Ray

"You'll Never Know" w. Mack Gordon m. Harry Warren introduced by Alice Faye in the film Hello, Frisco, Hello and also performed by Faye in the 1944 film Four Jills in a Jeep

Compositions

Henk Badings - Symphony No. 4

Béla Bartók - Concerto for Orchestra

Benjamin Britten

Rejoice in the Lamb, festival cantata

Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings

Alberto Ginastera - Five Argentinian Folk Songs

Reinhold Glière - 25 let Krasnoj Armii (25 Years of the Red Army), Ouverture for wind-orchestra op. 84

Morton Gould - Viola Concerto

Howard Hanson - Symphony No. 4

Paul Hindemith

Symphonic Metamorphoses on Themes of Weber for orchestra

Ludus Tonalis, for piano

Joaquin Homs - Choral Mass

Paul von Klenau - String Quartet No. 3

Rued Langgaard - Concerto in one movement for violin and orchestra

Bohuslav Martinů

Symphony No. 2

In Memory of Lidice

Concerto for Two Pianos

Violin Concerto No. 2

Nikolai Medtner - Piano Concerto No. 3

Douglas Moore - In memoriam

Saburo Moroi - Sinfonietta for Children

Vítězslav Novák - May Symphony, for soli, chorus and orchestra

Carl Orff - Catulli Carmina (revised version)

Walter Piston - Symphony No. 2

Manuel Ponce - Violin Concerto

Sergei Prokofiev - Flute Sonata in D Major

Joaquín Rodrigo - Heroic Concerto

William Schuman - Symphony No. 5, for strings

Dmitri Shostakovich

Piano Sonata No. 2

Symphony No. 8

Randall Thompson - The Testament of Freedom

Eduard Tubin - Suite on Estonian Dances for Violin and Piano

Ralph Vaughan Williams

The Story of a Flemish Farm

Symphony No. 5 in D Major

William Walton

The Quest (ballet)

Violin Concerto

Alberto Williams - Poema del Iguazú

Opera

Hans Krása - Brundibár, children's opera, first performed by inmates of Terezin transit camp

Musical theater

Bright Lights of 1944 Broadway production opened at the Forrest Theatre on September 16 and ran for 4 performances

Carmen Jones Broadway production opened at the Broadway Theatre on December 2 and ran for 502 performances

Early to Bed Broadway production opened at the Broadhurst Theatre on June 17 and ran for 380 performances

The Lisbon Story London production opened at the Hippodrome Theatre on June 17 and ran for 492 performances

Oklahoma! (Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II) - Broadway production opened at the St. James Theatre on March 31 and ran for 2411 performances

One Touch Of Venus Broadway production opened at the Imperial Theatre on October 7 and ran for 567 performances

Show Boat (Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II) - London revival opened at the Stoll Theatre on April 17 and ran for 264 performances

Sweet And Low London revue opened at the Ambassadors Theatre on June 10 and ran for 264 performances

Musical films

Beautiful Michoacán (Spanish:¡Qué lindo es Michoacán!), starring Tito Guízar, Gloria Marín and Víctor Manuel Mendoza.

Best Foot Forward, starring Lucille Ball and Nancy Walker and featuring Harry James & his Music Makers

Cabin In The Sky, starring Ethel Waters, Eddie Anderson, Lena Horne and Louis Armstrong

Coney Island, starring Betty Grable, George Montgomery, Cesar Romero and Phil Silvers

Crazy House, starring Ole Olsen, Chic Johnson and Cass Daley

DuBarry Was a Lady, released August 13 starring Red Skelton, Lucille Ball, Gene Kelly, Virginia O'Brien, Tommy Dorsey & his Orchestra and the Pied Pipers.

The Gang's All Here, starring Alice Faye, Carmen Miranda and Edward Everett Horton and featuring Benny Goodman & his Orchestra

Girl Crazy, starring Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland and June Allyson

Happy Go Lucky, starring Mary Martin, Dick Powell, Betty Hutton and Rudy Vallee

Hers to Hold, released July 16, starring Deanna Durbin and Joseph Cotten.

Higher and Higher, featuring Frank Sinatra and Victor Borge

Hit Parade of 1943, starring John Carroll, Susan Hayward, Gail Patrick and Eve Arden and featuring Dorothy Dandridge, Count Basie & his Orchestra, Freddy Martin & his Orchestra and Ray McKinley & his Orchestra

I Dood It, starring Eleanor Powell and Red Skelton and featuring Helen O'Connell & Bob Eberly with Jimmy Dorsey and his Orchestra, and Hazel Scott.

Let's Face It, starring Bob Hope, Betty Hutton, Zasu Pitts and Eve Arden

Mister Big, starring Donald O'Connor, Gloria Jean, Peggy Ryan and Robert Paige and featuring Ray Eberle

Reveille with Beverly, starring Ann Miller and featuring Frank Sinatra, Ella Mae Morse, The Mills Brothers, Freddie Slack & his Orchestra, Bob Crosby & his Orchestra and Duke Ellington & his Orchestra

Riding High, starring Dorothy Lamour and Dick Powell

Something to Shout About, released February 25, starring Don Ameche, Janet Blair, Jack Oakie and Cyd Charisse, and featuring Hazel Scott.

Stormy Weather, released July 21, starring Lena Horne, Cab Calloway and "Bojangles" Bill Robinson.

Swing Fever, starring Kay Kyser & his Orchestra, Marilyn Maxwell and Lena Horne; directed by Tim Whelan.

Thousands Cheer, starring Kathryn Grayson, Gene Kelly, Mary Astor and John Boles and featuring Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland and Eleanor Powell.

We'll Meet Again, released January 18, starring Vera Lynn, Geraldo and Patricia Roc.

January–March

January 2 – Baris Manco, singer-songwriter

January 7 – Richard Armstrong, orchestral conductor

January 10 – Jim Croce, singer-songwriter (died 1973)

January 14 – Mariss Jansons, conductor

January 16

Brian Ferneyhough, English composer

Gavin Bryars, composer and double bassist

Ronnie Milsap, country musician

January 17 – Chris Montez, singer

January 18 – Dave Greenslade, organ (Colosseum), Keyboard player (Greenslade), Keyboards (If)

January 19 – Janis Joplin, blues singer (d. 1971)

January 29 – Tony Blackburn, British radio DJ and singer

January 30 – Marty Balin, American rock musician (Jefferson Airplane)

February 3

Dennis Edwards (The Temptations)

Neil Bogart, American record producer, founded Casablanca Records (d. 1982)

Shawn Phillips, folk-rock musician

February 5 – Chuck Winfield (Blood, Sweat & Tears)

February 6 – Fabian Forte, teen idol singer

February 8 – Creed Bratton (The Grass Roots)

February 9 – Barbara Lewis, singer and songwriter

February 14

Eric Andersen, singer-songwriter

Maceo Parker, saxophonist

February 19 – Lou Christie, singer

February 21 – David Geffen, record executive

February 23 – Moshe Cotel, American composer and pianist (d. 2008)

February 25 – George Harrison, guitarist, singer and songwriter, member of The Beatles (d. 2001)

February 26 – Paul Cotton, Poco

February 27 – Morten Lauridsen, composer

February 28 – Donnie Iris, American musician (The Jaggerz, Wild Cherry, Donnie Iris and the Cruisers)

March 2 – George Benson, soul guitarist

March 7 – Chris Taylor White (The Zombies)

March 9 – David Matthews, composer

March 14

Leroy "Sugarfoot" Bonner, American singer, guitarist, and producer (Ohio Players) (d. 2013)

Jim Pons (The Turtles, The Mothers of Invention)

March 15 – Sly Stone, musician, singer-songwriter, and record producer

March 18 – Dennis Linde, songwriter

March 21 – Vivian Stanshall, English singer-songwriter (The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band) (d. 1995)

March 22 – Keith Relf, British rock musician (The Yardbirds) (d. 1976)

March 25 – Royston Maldoom OBE, British choreographer

March 29

Eric Idle, English actor, writer, and songwriter

Vangelis, Greek musician and composer

April–June

April 2

Larry Coryell

Glen Dale (The Fortunes)

April 3

Richard Manuel, Canadian pianist and singer (The Band)

Joe Vann (The Duprees)

April 7 – Mick Abrahams, guitarist (Jethro Tull)

April 9 – Terry Knight, music producer, singer and songwriter (d. 2004)

April 11 – Tony Victor (The Classics)

April 20 – Sir John Eliot Gardiner, conductor

April 26 – Gary Wright (Spooky Tooth)

April 28 – Jacques Dutronc, singer and composer

April 30 – Bobby Vee, singer (d. 2016)

May 4 – Sundar Popo, Indo-Trinidadian chutney musician (d. 2000)

May 7

Terry Allen, American country music singer

Rick West (The Tremeloes)

May 8 - Paul Samwell-Smith (The Yardbirds) (Renaissance)

May 9 – Bruce Milner, Every Mother's Son

May 11

Les Chadwick (Gerry & The Pacemakers)

Arnie Satin (The Dovells)

May 13 – Mary Wells, singer (d. 1992)

May 14

Derek Leckenby (Herman's Hermits) (d. 1994)

Jack Bruce, Scottish bass guitarist (Cream) (d. 2014)

May 21 – Vincent Crane, English keyboardist (Atomic Rooster, The Crazy World of Arthur Brown)

May 25 – Leslie Uggams, American singer

May 26 – Levon Helm, American drummer and singer (The Band) (d. 2012)

May 27 – Cilla Black, singer and entertainer (d. 2015)

May 28 – Tony Mansfield (Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas)

June 2 – Jimmy Castor, disco/funk saxophonist (d. 2012)

June 3 – Mike Dennis (The Dovells)

June 14 – Muff Winwood (Spencer Davis Group)

June 15 – Johnny Hallyday, singer and actor

June 17 – Barry Manilow, American singer, pianist, arranger and songwriter

June 23 – James Levine, conductor and pianist

June 26 – Georgie Fame, R & B musician

June 28 – Bobby Harrison, English drummer (Procol Harum)

June 29 – Little Eva (d. 2003)

June 30 – Florence Ballard, The Supremes (d. 1976)

July–September

July 1 – Jeff Wayne, American musician

July 2 – Larry Lake, American-Canadian trumpet player and composer (died 2013)

July 3 – Judith Durham, singer (The Seekers)

July 4

Alan Wilson (Canned Heat) (d. 1970)

Conny Bauer, jazz trombonist

July 12 – Christine McVie, singer (Fleetwood Mac)

July 18

Robin MacDonald (Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas)

Bobby Sherman, singer, actor and songwriter

July 25 – Jim McCarty, drummer & vocalist (The Yardbirds) (Renaissance)

July 26 – Mick Jagger, singer and actor (The Rolling Stones)

July 27 – Al Ramsey, Gary Lewis & The Playboys

July 28

Richard Wright, English keyboardist and singer (Pink Floyd) (d. 2008)

Mike Bloomfield, guitarist/singer-songwriter & composer (The Electric Flag) (d. 1981)

August 2

Patrick Adiarte, American actor and dancer

Kathy Lennon, American singer (The Lennon Sisters)

August 4 – David Carr, keyboardist (The Fortunes)

August 10 – Ronnie Spector, singer

August 11 – Denis Payton, saxophonist (The Dave Clark Five) (d. 2006)

August 19 – Billy J. Kramer, singer

August 23 – Pino Presti, Italian musician and record producer

August 24 – John Cipollina (Quicksilver Messenger Service) (d. 1989)

August 26 – Dori Caymmi, Brazilian singer/songwriter

August 28

Honey Lantree, drummer (The Honeycombs)

David Soul, singer and actor

August 29 – Dick Halligan (Blood, Sweat & Tears)

September 2

Rosalind Ashford, vocalist (Martha and the Vandellas)

Joe Simon

September 5 – Joe Speedo Frazier (The Impalas)

September 6 – Roger Waters, English Bassist, Singer and Songwriter (Pink Floyd)

September 11- Micky Hart (Grateful Dead)

September 12 – Maria Muldaur, singer

September 16 – Joe Butler (The Lovin' Spoonful)

September 20 – Ted Neeley, actor and singer (Jesus Christ Superstar)

September 23

Steve Boone (The Lovin' Spoonful)

Julio Iglesias, singer

September 25

John Locke (Spirit)

Gary Alexander (The Association

September 26 – Georgie Fame, R&B singer

September 27 – Randy Bachman Canadian guitarist, singer and songwriter (The Guess Who, Bachman–Turner Overdrive)

September 28 – Nick St. Nicholas (Steppenwolf)

September 30 - Marilyn McCoo, singer (The 5th Dimension)

October–December

October 1 – Jerry Martini (Sly & The Family Stone)

October 5 – Steve Miller (Steve Miller Band)

October 7 – Dino Valenti (Quicksilver Messenger Service)

October 10 – Denis D'Ell (The Honeycombs)

October 16 – Fred Turner, bassist (Bachman–Turner Overdrive)

October 21 – Ron Elliott (The Beau Brummels)

October 23 – Barbara Ann Hawkins (The Dixie Cups)

October 24 – Dafydd Iwan, folk singer-songwriter and politician

November 3 – Bert Jansch, folk musician (Pentangle) (died 2011)

November 4 – Sundar Popo, Indo-Trinidadian chutney musician (d. 2000)

November 7 – Joni Mitchell, singer-songwriter

November 12

Brian Hyland, singer

Jimmy Hayes, The Persuasions

November 12 – John Maus, vocalist (The Walker Brothers)

November 16 – Winifred Lovett (The Manhattans)

November 28 – Randy Newman, singer-songwriter

November 30

Leo Lyons (Ten Years After)

Rob Grill (The Grass Roots) (d. 2011)

December 6 – Mike Smith, singer-songwriter (The Dave Clark Five) (died 2008)

December 8 – Jim Morrison, singer (The Doors) (d. 1971)

December 9 – Rick Danko (The Band) (d. 1999)

December 12

Dickey Betts (The Allman Brothers Band)

Dave Munden (The Tremeloes)

Grover Washington, Jr., jazz-funk saxophonist (d. 1999)

December 16 – Tony Hicks, guitarist (The Hollies)

December 18

Keith Richards, guitarist and songwriter (The Rolling Stones)

Bobby Keys, saxophonist

December 23 – Harry Shearer, actor, musician (This Is Spinal Tap)

December 27 – Peter Sinfield, British lyricist and producer

December 31

John Denver, singer-songwriter (d. 1997)

Peter Quaife, bassist (The Kinks) (d. 2010)

Deaths

January 17 – Jane Avril, can-can dancer, 64

February 7

Clara Novello Davies, singer, mother of Ivor Novello, 81

Sigrid Arnoldson, operatic soprano, 82

February 17 – Armand J. Piron, jazz violinist, bandleader and composer, 54

March 7 – Alma Moodie, violinist, 44 (drug overdose)

March 8 – Alice Nielsen, Broadway performer and opera tic soprano, 70

March 19 – Abel Decaux, composer, 74

March 28

Ben Davies, operatic tenor, 85

Sergei Rachmaninoff, composer, 69

April 4 – David Roitman, hazzan and composer, 58

April 12 – Edoardo Garbin, operatic tenor, 78

April 29 – Joseph Achron, violinist and composer, 56

April 30 – René Blum, founder of the Ballet de l'Opera at Monte Carlo, 65 (in Auschwitz concentration camp)

May 28 – Vaughn De Leath, US singer and radio pioneer, 48 (alcohol-related)

June 16 – Sigrid Onégin, opera singer, 54

June 26 – Ruby Elzy, African American soprano Porgy and Bess, 35 (post-operative complications)

July 13 – Lorenzo Barcelata, songwriter, 44

July 20 – Maria Gay, opera singer, 64

September 1 – August Brunetti-Pisano, Austrian composer, 72

September 7

Frank Crumit, US singer, 53

Karlrobert Kreiten, pianist, 27

September 21 – Trixie Smith, blues singer, 48

October 5 – Leon Roppolo, jazz musician, 41

October 23 – Ben Bernie, US jazz violinist and bandleader, 52

October 31 – Max Reinhardt, theatre director, 70

November 22 – Lorenz Hart, lyricist, 48 (pneumonia)

November 26 – Winnaretta Singer, musical patron, 78

November 28 – Arthur Catterall, violinist, orchestra leader and conductor, 60

December 15 – Fats Waller, jazz pianist and singer, 39 (pneumonia)

December 18 – Joseph McCarthy, composer, 58

date unknown

Max Bouvet, operatic baritone (born 1854)

Harry Kandel, bandleader (born 1885)

Erhard Wechselmann, baritone opera singer (born 1895?) (killed in Auschwitz concentration camp)