January 5 – The first sessions for Ella Fitzgerald's George and Ira Gershwin Songbook are held.
January 12 – Tamla Records is founded by Berry Gordy Jr. in Detroit, Michigan.
January 22 – Buddy Holly records some acoustic demos in his New York City apartment, the last songs he recorded. Songs included "Peggy Sue Got Married", "Crying, Waiting, Hoping", "Learning the Game", "What to Do", "That's What They Say", and "That Makes It Tough."
February 3 – "The Day the Music Died": Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper are killed in a plane crash in Iowa. Future country star Waylon Jennings was scheduled to be on the plane, but instead gave his seat up to The Big Bopper.
March 2-April 22 – The recording sessions for the extremely influential Miles Davis jazz album Kind of Blue take place at the CBS 30th Street Studio in New York City. The album is released on August 17 in the United States.
March 11 – The 4th Eurovision Song Contest is held in Cannes, France, and won by the Netherlands with the song "Een beetje" performed by Teddy Scholten.
April 3 – The BBC bans the Coasters song "Charlie Brown" because of the word "spitball", a decision it reverses later in the month.
April 24 – The Your Hit Parade television series airs its last episode
May 12 – Plácido Domingo makes his stage debut at the Teatro Degollado in Guadalajara as Pascual in Marina.
May 30 – Helge Rosvaenge gives his farewell concert at Vienna's Great Musikvereinsaal.
June 11 – Violence erupts at the Seventh Festival of Neapolitan Song in a scandal that sparks a parliamentary inquiry amidst accusations of corruption and involvement of organized crime in a song competition that is seen to have become increasingly commercialised.
July–November – Alan Lomax and English singer Shirley Collins make a folksong collecting trip in the Southern United States during which they 'discover' Mississippi Fred McDowell.
August 25–September 5 – Darmstädter Ferienkurse held in Darmstadt, with lectures by Włodzimierz Kotoński, György Ligeti, Andrzej Markowski, Yoritsune Matsudaira, Werner Meyer-Eppler, Luigi Nono, Henri Pousseur, Karlheinz Stockhausen, and Bo Wallner, and world premieres of Claude Baillif's Mouvements pour deux, Sylvano Bussotti's Piano Pieces for David Tudor, Cornelius Cardew's Two Books of Study for Pianists and Piano Piece 1959, Niccolo Castiglioni's Cangiati per pianoforte, Roman Haubenstock-Ramati's Interpolation: Mobile pour flûte, Mauricio Kagel's Transición II, Angelo Paccagnini's Canti brevi: secondo libro, and Stockhausen's Zyklus.
September 13 – Bo Diddley's single "Say Man" enters the US R&B charts.
Fall – Bill Haley & His Comets end their groundbreaking association with Decca Records, for whom they had recorded since 1954. Their first recording for the label, "Rock Around the Clock", helped usher in the rock and roll era. Haley signs with Warner Bros. Records.
Joan Baez performs at the first Newport Folk Festival as a surprise guest and becomes an underground favorite
Otto Luening and Vladimir Ussachevsky co-found the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center in New York City.
The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences sponsors the first Grammy Award ceremony for music recorded in 1958.
Dalida receives a Music Oscar for Best Song and a first foreign award (a "Golden Lion" in Berlin).
Jacques Loussier forms the Play Bach Trio with bassist Pierre Michelot and percussionist Christian Garros.
Ornette Coleman plays a legendary and controversial concert at New York's Five Spot.
Roy Orbison signs with Monument Records.
The Supremes are founded as a quartet ("The Primettes").
Jimi Hendrix buys his first electric guitar: a White Single pickup Supro Ozark 1560 S.
Veteran sarodiya and multi-instrumentalist Allauddin Khan records for All India Radio.
Jilin opera is developed in China.
Approximate date – Ballads and Blues folk club founded by Ewan MacColl and others in a London pub in Soho as part of the second British folk revival.
An Evening Wasted with Tom Lehrer – Tom Lehrer
At Large – The Kingston Trio
Ballad of the Blues – Jo Stafford
Bill Haley's Chicks – Bill Haley & His Comets
Blind Joe Death – John Fahey
The Cats – John Coltrane
Cattin' with Coltrane and Quinichette – John Coltrane & Paul Quinichette
Chega De Saudade - João Gilberto
Chuck Berry Is on Top – Chuck Berry
Cliff – Cliff Richard (debut) ('Live' and with 'The Drifters')
Cliff Sings – Cliff Richard
Come Dance with Me! – Frank Sinatra
Como Swings – Perry Como
Cuttin' Capers – Doris Day
A Date with Elvis – Elvis Presley
Dinah, Yes Indeed! – Dinah Shore
Dreams of Italy – Johnny Cole
Ella Fitzgerald Sings Sweet Songs for Swingers – Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Songbook – Ella Fitzgerald
Everybody Digs Bill Evans – Bill Evans
50,000,000 Elvis Fans Can't Be Wrong – Elvis Presley
For LP Fans Only – Elvis Presley
...From the Hungry i – The Kingston Trio (live)
The Genius of Ray Charles – Ray Charles
Get Happy! – Ella Fitzgerald
Go Bo Diddley – Bo Diddley
Greatest! – Johnny Cash
Here We Go Again! – The Kingston Trio
Hymns by Johnny Cash – Johnny Cash
I'll Be Seeing You – Jo Stafford
A Jazz Portrait of Frank Sinatra – Oscar Peterson
Kind of Blue – Miles Davis
Liturgical Jazz – Ed Summerlin
Lonely Street – Andy Williams
Look to Your Heart – Frank Sinatra
Love in Portofino (A San Cristina) – Dalida
Mingus Ah Um – Charles Mingus
Moanin' in the Moonlight – Howlin' Wolf (debut)
No One Cares – Frank Sinatra
¡Olé Tormé!: Mel Tormé Goes South of the Border with Billy May – Mel Tormé
Once Upon a Summertime – Blossom Dearie
Persuasive Percussion – Terry Snyder and the All Stars
Ricky Sings Again – Ricky Nelson
Ritchie Valens – Ritchie Valens
Season's Greetings from Perry Como – Perry Como
The Shape of Jazz to Come – Ornette Coleman
The Song You Heard When You Fell in Love – Betty Johnson
Songs of our Soil – Johnny Cash
Stereo Concert – The Kingston Trio (live)
Strictly Instrumental – Bill Haley & His Comets
Swing Along – The Four Lads
Swing Me an Old Song – Julie London
Time Out – Dave Brubeck Quartet
Vaughan and Violins – Sarah Vaughan
What a Diff'rence a Day Makes! – Dinah Washington
Your Number Please – Julie London
The following songs achieved the highest chart positions in the charts of 1959.
"A Big Hunk o' Love" – Elvis Presley
"A Boy Without a Girl" – Frankie Avalon
"All for the Love of a Girl" – Johnny Horton
"(All of a Sudden) My Heart Sings" – Paul Anka
"Among My Souvenirs" – Connie Francis
"The Battle of New Orleans" – Johnny Horton
"Beachcomber" - Jo Ann Campbell
"Beyond the Sea" – Bobby Darin
"The Big Hurt" – Toni Fisher
"Billy Bayou" – Jim Reeves
"Bobby Sox to Stockings" – Frankie Avalon
"Ciao, Ciao Bambina" – Dalida
"C'mon Everybody" - Eddie Cochran
"Come Softly to Me" – The Fleetwoods
"Crying, Waiting, Hoping" – Buddy Holly
"Don't You Know?" – Della Reese
"Donna"-Ritchie Valens
"Dream Lover" – Bobby Darin
"Driftin" – The Drifters (B-side to "Jet Black")
"Dynamite" – Cliff Richard and The Shadows
"El Paso" – Marty Robbins
"Expresso Bongo" (EP) – Cliff Richard and The Shadows
"First Name Initial" – Annette
"(Now and Then There's) A Fool Such as I" – Elvis Presley
"Feelin' Fine" – The Drifters
"Forty Miles of Bad Road" – Duane Eddy
"Goodbye Jimmy, Goodbye" - Kathy Linden
"The Happy Organ" – Dave "Baby" Cortez
"Heartaches by the Number" – Guy Mitchell
"He'll Have to Go" – Jim Reeves
"High Hopes" – Frank Sinatra
"I'm Blue Again" – Patsy Cline
"I Only Have Eyes for You" – The Flamingos
"I Really Really Love You" - Jo Ann Campbell
"It Doesn't Matter Anymore" – Buddy Holly
"It Was I" – Skip & Flip
"It's All in the Game" – Tommy Edwards
"It's Just a Matter of Time" – Brook Benton
"It's Only The Good Times" – Tommy Edwards
"I Wanna Be Loved" – Ricky Nelson
"J'ai rêvé" – Dalida
"Jet Black" – The Drifters
"Just Ask Your Heart" – Frankie Avalon
"Just a Little Too Much" – Ricky Nelson
"Kansas City" – Wilbert Harrison
"Kissin' Time" – Bobby Rydell
"La Bamba" – Ritchie Valens
"Let's Jump the Broomstick" – Brenda Lee
"Lipstick on Your Collar" – Connie Francis
"Livin' Lovin' Doll" – Cliff Richard and The Drifters
"Living Doll" – Cliff Richard and The Drifters
"Lonely Boy" – Paul Anka
"Lonely Street" – Andy Williams
"Lonesome Fella" – The Shadows (B-side to "Saturday Dance")
"Lonesome Town" – Ricky Nelson
"Love in Portofino (A San Cristina)" – Dalida
"Love Potion Number Nine" – The Clovers
"M.T.A." – The Kingston Trio
"Mack the Knife" – Bobby Darin
"Mean Streak" – Cliff Richard and The Drifters
"Mr. Blue" – The Fleetwoods
"Misty" – Johnny Mathis
"My Happiness" – Connie Francis (released in 1958).
"Morgen" – Ivo Robic
"My Heart is an Open Book" – Carl Dobkins, Jr.
"Never Be Anyone Else But You" – Ricky Nelson
"Never Mind" – Cliff Richard and The Drifters (B-side to "Mean Streak")
"Non Dimenticar" – Nat King Cole
"Peggy Sue Got Married" – Buddy Holly
"Personality" – Lloyd Price
"Peter Gunn" – Duane Eddy, Ray Anthony and His Orchestra
"Pillow Talk" – Doris Day
"Poison Ivy" – The Coasters
"Poor Jenny" – The Everly Brothers
"Plenty Good Lovin" – Connie Francis
"Put Your Head on My Shoulder" – Paul Anka
"Raining in My Heart" – Buddy Holly
"Roberta" – Frankie Ford
"Rockin' Mother" – Frankie Laine
"Rocks and Gravel" – Frankie Laine
"Rummy Polka" – Matys Brothers
"Running Bear" – Johnny Preston
"Saturday Dance" – The Shadows
"Sea Cruise" – Frankie Ford
"Sea of Love" – Phil Phillips
"Since I Don't Have You" – The Skyliners
"Sleep Walk" – Santo & Johnny
"Small World" – Johnny Mathis
"Some Kind-A Earthquake" – Duane Eddy
"Stagger Lee" – Lloyd Price
"Sweeter Than You" – Ricky Nelson
"Sweet Nothin's" – Brenda Lee
"Take a Message to Mary" – The Everly Brothers
"Tall Oak Tree" – Dorsey Burnette
"A Teenager in Love" – Dion and the Belmonts
"The Three Bells" – The Browns
"There Goes My Baby" – The Drifters
"(Till) I Kissed You" – The Everly Brothers
"Till There Was You" – Anita Bryant
"Travellin' Light – Cliff Richard and The Shadows (B-side to "Dynamite")
"True Love, True Love" / "Dance With Me" – The Drifters
"The Twist" – Hank Ballard
"Venus" – Frankie Avalon
"The Village of St. Bernadette" – Andy Williams
"What About Us" – The Coasters
"What a Difference a Day Makes" – Dinah Washington
"What'd I Say" – Ray Charles
"Where the Boys Are" – Connie Francis
"Why" – Frankie Avalon
"A Worried Man" – The Kingston Trio
"Yep!" – Duane Eddy
See also: Hot 100 number-one hits of 1959 (United States)
"77 Sunset Strip" w.m. Mack David & Jerry Livingston
"Along Came Jones" w.m. Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller
"All My Tomorrows" w. Sammy Cahn m. Jimmy Van Heusen, from the film A Hole in the Head
"Alvin's Harmonica" w.m. Ross Bagdasarian
"Angela Jones" w.m. John D. Loudermilk
"Anyone Would Love You" w.m. Harold Rome. Introduced by Andy Griffith and Dolores Gray in the musical Destry Rides Again
"The Battle of New Orleans" trad arr. Jimmy Driftwood
"The Best Is Yet to Come" w. Carolyn Leigh m. Cy Coleman
"Best Of Everything" w. Sammy Cahn m. Lionel Newman, from the film The Best of Everything
"A Big Hunk o' Love" w. m. Aaron Schroeder & Sid Wyche
"Big Iron" w.m. Marty Robbins
"Breaking Up Is Hard To Do" w.m. Neil Sedaka & Howard Greenfield
"The Children's Marching Song" trad arr. Malcolm Arnold. Performed by Ingrid Bergman and The Orphans' Chorus in the film Inn of the Sixth Happiness
"China Doll" w.m. Cindy Walker
"Ciao, Ciao, Bambina" w.(Eng) Mitchell Parish (Ital) Eduardo Verde & Domenico Modugno m. Domenico Modugno
"Climb Ev'ry Mountain" w. Oscar Hammerstein II m. Richard Rodgers. Introduced by Patricia Neway in the musical Sound of Music
"Come Softly To Me" w.m. Gary Troxel, Barbara Ellis & Gretchen Christopher
"Delaware" w.m. Irving Gordon
"Don't You Know?" w.m. adapt. Bobby Worth
"Do-Re-Mi" w. Oscar Hammerstein II m. Richard Rodgers. Introduced by Mary Martin in the musical Sound of Music. Sung by Julie Andrews in the film version.
"Dream Lover" w.m. Bobby Darin
"Early In The Morning" adapt Bruce Belland & Glen Larson
"Edelweiss" w. Oscar Hammerstein II m. Richard Rodgers. Introduced by Mary Martin in the musical Sound of Music. Sung by Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer in the film version.
"El Paso" w.m. Marty Robbins
"Endlessly" w.m. Clyde Otis & Brook Benton
"Everything's Coming Up Roses" w. Stephen Sondheim m. Jule Styne. Introduced by Ethel Merman in the musical Gypsy. Sung in the film version by Lisa Kirk dubbing for Rosalind Russell.
"Frankie" w. Howard Greenfield m. Neil Sedaka
"Game Of Poker" w. Johnny Mercer m. Harold Arlen, from the musical Saratoga
"Goodbye Jimmy, Goodbye" w.m. Jack Vaughn
"Greenfields" w.m. Terry Gilkyson, Rich Dehr & Frank Miller
"Handy Man" w.m. Otis Blackwell & Jimmy Jones
"The Hanging Tree" w. Mack David m. Jerry Livingston, Introduced by Marty Robbins in the film The Hanging Tree
"Happy Anniversary" w. Al Stillman m. Robert Allen
"The Happy Organ" w.m. Kurt Wood, David Clowney & James Kreigsmann
"Heartaches By The Number" w.m. Harlan Howard
"He'll Have To Go" w.m. Joe Allison & Audrey Allison
"High Hopes" w. Sammy Cahn m. Jimmy Van Heusen. Introduced by Frank Sinatra and Eddie Hodges in the film A Hole in the Head.
"I Ain't Never" w.m. Mel Tillis
"I Feel Sorry For The Girl" w.m. Glenn Paxton, Robert Goldman & George Weiss
"I Know" w.m. Carl Stutz & Edith Lindeman
"I Need Your Love Tonight" w.m. Sid Wayne & Bix Reichner
"I Wanna Be Around" w.m. Johnny Mercer & Sadie Vimmerstedt
"If I Ever Fall In Love Again" w. Peter Wildeblood m. Peter Greenwell
"I'll Never Fall In Love Again" Johnnie Ray
"I'm Gonna Get Married" w.m. Lloyd Price & Harold Logan
"I'm Looking Out the Window" John Jacob Niles, Don Raye
"I'm Never Gonna Tell" Hoffman, Manning, Markwell
"In A Little While" w. Marshall Barer m. Mary Rodgers
"It Doesn't Matter Anymore" w.m. Paul Anka
"Kansas City" w.m. Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller
"Kookie, Kookie (Lend Me Your Comb)" w.m. Irving Taylor
"Let Me Entertain You" w. Stephen Sondheim m. Jule Styne. Introduced by Sandra Church and chorus in the musical Gypsy.
"Like Young" m. André Previn
"Lipstick On Your Collar" w. Eddie Lewis m. George Goehring
"Little Donkey" w.m. Eric Boswell
"The Little Drummer Boy" w.m. adapt. Henry Onorati, Katherine Davis & Harry Simeone
"Little Tin Box" w. Sheldon Harnick m. Jerry Bock
"The Little White Bull" Lionel Bart, Michael Pratt, Jimmy Bennett
"Living Doll" w.m. Lionel Bart
"Lock Up Your Daughters" w. Lionel Bart m. Laurie Johnson
"Lonely Blue Boy" F & B Wiseman
"Lonely Boy" w.m. Paul Anka
"The Lonely Goatherd" w. Oscar Hammerstein II m. Richard Rodgers. Introduced by Mary Martin and the children in the musical Sound of Music. Performed by Julie Andrews in the film version.
"Lonely Street" w.m. Carl Belew, Kenny Sowder & W. S. Stevenson
"Love Potion No. 9" w.m. Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller
"Love Will Find Out The Way" w.m. Glenn Paxton, Robert Goldman & George Weiss
"Lullaby In Ragtime" w.m. Sylvia Fine. Introduced by Danny Kaye in the film The Five Pennies.
"The M.T.A." w.m. adapt. Jacqueline Steiner & Bess Hawes
"Maria" w. Oscar Hammerstein II m. Richard Rodgers. Introduced by Patricia Neway, Muriel O'Malley, Elizabeth Howell and Karen Shepard in the musical Sound of Music.
"Marina" w.(Eng) Ray Maxwell m. Rocco Granata
"The Mating Game" w. Lee Adams m. Charles Strouse. Theme song from the film The Mating Game
"May You Always" w.m. Larry Markes & Dick Charles
"Memphis" w.m. Chuck Berry
"Milord" w. (Eng) B. G. Lewis (Fr) Joseph Mustacchi m. Marguerite Monnot
"Morgen" w. (Eng) Noel Sherman (Ger) Peter Mosser m. Peter Mosser
"Mr. Blue" w.m. Dewayne Blackwell
"My Favorite Things" w. Oscar Hammerstein II m. Richard Rodgers. Introduced by Patricia Neway and Mary Martin in the musical Sound of Music. Performed in the film version by Julie Andrews.
"My Heart Is An Open Book" w. Hal David m. Lee Pockriss
"My Wish Came True" w.m. Ivory Joe Hunter
"Oh! Carol" w. Howard Greenfield m. Neil Sedaka
"Only Love Me" w. (Eng) Mann Curtis (Ital) Pinchi m. V. Panzuti
"Only Sixteen" w.m. Barbara Campbell
"Personality" w.m. Lloyd Price & Harold Logan
"Pick Me Up On Your Way Down" w.m. Harlan Howard
"Pillow Talk" w.m. Buddy Pepper & Inez James. Introduced by Doris Day and Rock Hudson in the film of the same name.
"La Plume De Ma Tante" w.m. Al Hoffman & Dick Manning
"Poison Ivy" w.m. Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller
"Promise Me A Rose" w.m. Bob Merrill, introduced by Eileen Herlie in the musical Take Me Along
"Put Your Head on My Shoulder" w.m. Paul Anka
"Quiet Village" m. Les Baxter
"Running Bear" w.m. J. P. Richardson
"The Same Old Me" F. Owen
"Sea Of Love" w.m. George Khoury & Phil Baptiste
"See You in September" w. Sid Wayne m. Sherman Edwards
"Seven Little Girls Sitting in the Backseat" w. Bob Hilliard m. Lee Pockriss
"Shout" O'Kelly Isley, Ronald Isley, Rudolph Isley
"Side Saddle" m. Trevor H. Stanford
"Sleep Walk" m. Ann Farina, Johnny Farina & Santo Farina
"Small World" w. Stephen Sondheim m. Jule Styne. Introduced by Ethel Merman and Jack Klugman in the musical Gypsy
"Sorry, I Ran All The Way Home" w.m. Harry Giosasi & Artie Zwirn
"The Sound Of Music" w. Oscar Hammerstein II m. Richard Rodgers. Introduced by Mary Martin in the musical Sound of Music.
"Strange Are The Ways Of Love" w. Ned Washington m. Dimitri Tiomkin, from the film western The Young Land
"Summertime Love" w.m. Frank Loesser
"Sweet Nothin's" Ronnie Self
"Take Me Along" w.m. Bob Merrill. Introduced by Jackie Gleason and Walter Pidgeon in the musical Take Me Along.
"Tall Paul" w.m. Bob Roberts, Bob Sherman & Dick Sherman
"Tallahassee Lassie" w.m. Frank C. Slay Jr, Bob Crewe & Frederick A. Picariello
"Teen Angel" w.m. Jean Surrey & Red Surrey
"A Teenager in Love" w.m. Jerome "Doc" Pomus & Mort Shuman
"There Goes My Baby" w.m. Benjamin Nelson, Lover Patterson, George Treadwell
"This Magic Moment" w.m. Doc Pomus & Mort Shuman
"Three Steps to Heaven" Eddie Cochran
"The Tijuana Jail" w.m. Denny Thompson
" ('Til) I Kissed You" w.m. Don Everly
"Time And The River" w.m. Aaron Schroeder & Wally Gold
"Tomboy" w.m. Joe Farrell & Jim Conway
"Too Long At The Fair" w.m. Billy Barnes
"Tucumcari" Olofson, McIntyre
"The Untouchables" m. Nelson Riddle.
"Venus" w.m. Ed Marshall
"The Village of St. Bernadette" w.m. Eula Parker
"Waterloo" w.m. John D. Loudermilk & Marijohn Wilkin
"We Got Love" w. Kal Mann m. Bernie Lowe
"What Do You Want?" Les Vandyke
"What'd I Say" w.m. Ray Charles
"Why" w. Bob Marcucci m. Peter De Angelis
"The Wonder of You" w.m. Baker Knight
"Wonderful You" Stallman, Jacobson
"A Worried Man" w.m. Dave Guard & Tom Glazer
"You're Starting To Get To Me" Sammy Cahn, Jimmy Van Heusen, from the film Say One for Me
"Chiclete com banana" w.m. Gordurinha and Almira Castilho
"Jin-go-lo-ba" w.m. Babatunde Olatunji
"Ne me quitte pas" w. m. Jacques Brel
"Piove (Ciao, ciao bambina)" w. Dino Verde m. Domenico Modugno
"Satchan" w. Hiroo Sakata m. Megumi Ōnaka
Juhan Aavik – Requiem
Jean Absil –
Danses bulgares, op. 103, for piano
Passacaglia in memoriam Alban Berg, op. 101, for piano
Rhapsody No. 5, op. 102, for 2 pianos
Murray Adaskin – Saskatchewan Legend, for orchestra
Samuel Adler – Toccata, Recitation, and Postlude, for organ
Stephen Albert – Toccatas (2), for piano
William Alwyn –
Symphony No. 4
Trio for strings
Hendrik Andriessen –
Missa populi, for solo voice, congregation, and organ
Signum Magnum, for soprano, choir, and organ
Suite, for flute or recorder and piano
Tota pulchra, anima mea, for 2 voices and organ
Jurriaan Andriessen – Sonata da camera, for flute, viola, and guitar
Louis Andriessen –
Nocturnen, for soprano and chamber orchestra
Percosse, for flute, trumpet, bassoon, and percussion
István Anhalt –
Electronic Composition No. 1 "Sine nomine I"
Electronic Composition No. 2 "Sine nomine II"
Hans Erich Apostel –
Fantasie, op. 31b, for piano
Österreichische Miniaturen (5), for orchestra
Vier kleine Klavierstücke, op. 31a, for piano
Malcolm Arnold –
Concerto, for guitar and chamber orchestra, op. 67
Song of Simeon, op. 69 (nativity masque), for mimes, solo voices, and chamber orchestra
Sweeney Todd, op. 68 (ballet)
William Blake Songs, op. 66, for alto and strings
Claude Arrieu –
Fantaisie lyrique, for ondes martenot and piano
Suite, for string orchestra
Robert Ashley – Piano Sonata ("Christopher Columbus crosses to the New World in the Niña, the Pinta and the Santa Maria using only dead reckoning and a crude astrolabe")
Larry Austin – Homecoming, cantata for soprano and jazz quintet
Jan Bach – Toccata, for orchestra
Sven-Erik Bäck – A Game around a Game, for orchestra
Henk Badings –
Capriccio, for violin, 2 tapes, and "elektromagnetische Klangfiguren"
Die Frau von Andros, ballet, electronic music
Jungle, ballet, electronic music
Languentibus in purgatorio, for mixed choir
Psalm 147, for children’s chorus, chamber chorus, chorus, and orchestra
Claude Baillif – Mouvements pour deux, op. 27, for flute and piano
Tadeusz Baird – Espressioni varianti, for violin and orchestra
Leonardo Balada – Musica en cuatro tiempos, for piano
Samuel Barber – Nocturne (Homage to John Field), op. 33, for piano
Jean Barraqué – … au-delà du hasard, for soprano, SA choir, 20 instruments in 4 groups including piano and clarinet soloists
Leslie Bassett –
Duets, for 2 cellos
For City, Nation, World. cantata, for tenor, SATB choir, children’s choir ad lib, congregation, 4 trombones, and organ
Sonata, for violin and piano
Jürg Baur –
Chorale Preludes (4), for organ
Concertino, for flute, oboe, clarinet, string orchestra, and timpani
Metamorphosen, for piano, violin, and cello
Gustavo Becerra-Schmidt – String Quartet No. 5
John J. Becker –
At Dieppe, for voice and piano
String Quartet no. 3 (unfinished)
John Beckwith – Music for Dancing, for orchestra (second orchestration)
Jack Beeson –
Against Idleness and Mischief and in Praise of Labor, for high voice and piano
"Fire, Fire, Quench Desire", for high voice and piano
Lullaby, for alto and piano (revised version)
Round and Round, for piano, four-hands
Symphony No. 1, in A major
Three Love Songs, for alto and piano (revised version)
Transformations, for large orchestra
Paul Ben-Haim –
Hazono shel navi [The Vision of a Prophet], for tenor, SATB choir, and orchestra
Poème, for harp
Arthur Benjamin – String Quartet No. 2
Richard Rodney Bennett – Music for an Occasion, for orchestra
Niels Viggo Bentzon – Piano Sonata No. 7, op. 121
Gunnar Berg –
Gaffkys I–X, for piano
Pour clarinette et violon, for clarinet and violin
Pour piano et orchestre, for piano and orchestra
37 Aspects (Spoon River) , for ensemble
Arthur Berger – Chamber Concerto, for small orchestra
Luciano Berio –
Allez Hop!, "racconto mimico"
Quaderni I, for orchestra
Lennox Berkeley –
Overture, for light orchestra
"So sweet love seemed", for mezzo-sopran or baritone and piano
Sonatina, op. 52, no. 2, for 2 pianos
Boris Blacher – Musica giocosa, op. 59, for orchestra
Easley Blackwood, Jr. –
Concertino, op. 5, for 5 instruments
String Quartet No. 2, op. 6
Arthur Bliss – Birthday Song for a Royal Child, SATB choir
Augustyn Bloch –
Espressioni, for soprano and orchestra
Impressioni poetiche, for male choir and orchestra
Konrad Boehmer – Variation, for orchestra
William Bolcom – Romantic Pieces, for piano
Margaret Bonds –
Dream Portraits (3), for voice and piano
"Ezekiel saw the wheel", for voice and piano
"I Got a Home in That Rock", for voice and orchestra or piano
Mass in D Minor, for choir and organ
Narcís Bonet – Choral, for organ
Pierre Boulez –
Improvisation sur Mallarmé III: A la nue accablante tu, for soprano and orchestra
Tombeau, for soprano and orchestra
Paul Bowles – Sweet Bird of Youth, incidental music for the play by Tennessee Williams
Henry Brant – The Crossing, for tenor, oboe or soprano saxophone, glockenspiel, violin, and cello
Havergal Brian – Symphony No. 13 in C major
Benjamin Britten –
Cantata academica, carmen basiliense, op. 62, for SATB chorus and orchestra
Fanfare for St Edmundsbury, for 3 trumpets
Missa brevis in D, op. 63, for boys’ voices and organ
Oliver Cromwell, for unison voices and piano
Earle Brown – Hodograph I, for flute, piano + celesta, and percussion
Alan Bush – Dorian Passacaglia and Fugue, op. 52, for orchestra
Geoffrey Bush – Songs of Wonder, for soprano or tenor and string orchestra or piano
Sylvano Bussotti – Piano Pieces for David Tudor
Nigel Butterley – Joseph and Mary, for soprano and flute
Cornelius Cardew – Piano Piece 1959
Elliott Carter – String Quartet No. 2
Niccolo Castiglioni – Cangiati, for piano
Chen Gang & He Zhanhao – Butterfly Lovers' Violin Concerto
Aldo Clementi –
Ideogrammi No. 1, for 16 instruments
Ideogrammi No. 2, for flute and 17 instruments
Aaron Copland –
Dance Panels, for orchestra
Paisaje mexicana and Danza de Jalisco, as Two Mexican Pieces, for orchestra; later became part of Three Latin American Sketches (1971)
John Corigliano –
Kaleidoscope, for 2 pianos
Petits Fours, for violin and piano
Paul Creston –
Janus, op. 77, for orchestra
Prelude and Dance, op. 76, for band
George Crumb – Variazioni for large orchestra
Halim El-Dabh –
Elements, Beings and Primevals, for tape
Juxtaposition No. 1, for percussion ensemble
Juxtaposition No. 2, for percussion and harp
Juxtaposition No. 3, for mezzo-soprano, 2 harps, and percussion
Leiyla and the Poet, for tape
Meditation on White Noise, for tape
The Word, for tape,
Mario Davidovsky – Serie sinfonica 1959 for orchestra
Paul Dessau –
Flug zur Sonne, dance scenes
Hymne auf den Beginn einer neuen Geschichte der Menschheit, for speakr, soprano, chorus, 3 pianos, 2 harps, double bass, timpani, and percussion
David Diamond –
A Private World, for piano
Sonata, for solo cello
Sonata, for solo violin
Symphony No. 7
Henri Dutilleux – Symphony No. 2 (Le Double)
Werner Egk –
Furchtlosigkeit und Wohlwollen, oratorio for tenor, mixed chorus, and orchestra (revised version)
Variationen über ein karibisches Thema, for orchestra
Gottfried von Einem – Tanz-Rondo, op. 27, for orchestra
Hanns Eisler –
Brandverse, for voice and piano
Motto (Auf einer chinesischen Theewurzellöwen), for voice and piano
Musik zu ‘Schweyk im zweiten Weltkrieg’, for voice and small orchestra
Trommellied, for voice and piano
Rezitativ und Fuge auf 60. Geburtstag von J. R. Becher, for voice and piano
Um meine Weisheit unbekümmert, for voice and piano
Kenneth Gaburo – Stray Birds, for soprano and piano
Roberto Gerhard –
Asylum Diary, incidental music for the play by Lavant
Chaconne, for solo violin
Coriolanus, incidental music for the play by Shakespeare
Don Carlos, incidental music for the play by Schiller
Lament on the Death of a Bullfighter, for speaker and tape
Ottmar Gerster –
Concerto, for horn and orchestra
Vorwärts!, for baritone, speaker, SATB choir, and chamber orchestra
Peggy Glanville-Hicks –
Drama for Orchestra, for clarinet, trumpet, piano, 3 percussionists, strings
Saul and the Witch of Endor, ballet for television
Roger Goeb –
Concertino no. 2, for orchestra
Iowa Concerto, for chamber orchestra
Alexander Goehr –
Fantasia, op. 4 (revised version), for orchestra
Songs from the Japanese, op. 9, for mezzo-soprano and piano or orchestra
Variations, op. 8, for flute and piano
Henryk Górecki – Symphony No. 1 1959
Fernando Lopes Graça –
Canções populares portuguesas (24), book 4, for voice and piano
História trágico-marítima, second version, for baritone, alto chorus, and orchestra
A menina do mar, for chamber orchestra
Nocturnos (5), for piano
As predicações de Adamastor contra os portugueses, for voice and piano
Prelúdio e dança burlesca, for 2 pianos
Rondes et complaintes des provinces de France, for choir
Tres peças, for violin and piano
Tres velhos fandangos portugueses, version for piano
Camargo Guarnieri –
"O amor de agora", for voice and piano
"Onde andará", for voice and piano
Ponteios, volume 5, for piano
Sonata No. 5, for violin and piano
Valsa No. 10, for piano
György Kurtág –
String Quartet No. 1, op. 1
Wind Quintet, op. 2
Cristóbal Halffter –
Sonata, for violin solo
Three Pieces, for flute solo
Rodolfo Halffter – Tripartita, op. 25, for orchestra
Iain Hamilton – Sinfonia, for two orchestras
Roman Haubenstock-Ramati – Interpolation: Mobile pour flûte
Bernhard Heiden – Viola Sonata
Hans Werner Henze –
Sonata for piano
L’usignolo dell’imperatore, balletto-pantomima, after Hans Christian Andersen
Paul Hindemith –
Festmarsch, for 3 male voices and tuba
Joseph, lieber Joseph mein, canon for 4 voices
Six songs from Das Marienleben, op. 27, arranged for soprano and orchestra
Karel Horký –
Jan Hus, tastura, ballet (revised version)
Symphony No. 1
Alan Hovhaness –
Bardo Sonata, op. 192, for piano
Concerto for Accordion and Orchestra, op. 174
Lake of Van Sonata, op. 175, for piano (revised version)
Symphony No. 6 "Celestial Gate", op. 173, for chamber orchestra
Symphony No. 7 "Nanga Parvat", op. 175, for wind ensemble
Andrew Imbrie – Legend, for orchestra
Maki Ishii – Prelude and Variations, for flute, clarinet, bassoon, horn, violin, viola, cello, piano, and percussion
Jānis Ivanovs – Piano Concerto in G minor
Francis Jackson – Diversion for Mixtures
Miloslav Kabeláč –
Cizokrajné motivy [Motifs from Foreign Countries], op. 38, for piano
Suite from Master of Nine Songs’, op. 34a, for baritone and orchestra
Suite, op. 39, for saxophone and piano*Dmitri Kabalevsky –
Preludes and Fugues, op. 61
The Leninists, cantata after Y. Dolmatovski for three choruses and large symphony orchestra, op. 63
Mauricio Kagel – Transición II, for piano, percussion, and two tape recorders
Aram Khachaturian –
Lermontov: Suite, for orchestra
Sonatina, for piano
Tikhon Khrennikov – Violin Concerto No. 1, op. 14
Gottfried Michael Koenig –
Quintet for Winds, for flute, oboe, cor anglais, clarinet, and bassoon
String Quartet 1959
Ernst Krenek –
Flötenstück neunphasig, op. 171, for flute and 6 pianos
Hausmusik, op. 172, for various instruments
Quaestio temporis, op. 170, for small orchestra
Six Motets, op. 169, for 4 voices
György Kurtág –
String Quartet, op. 1
Wind Quintet, op. 2
John La Montaine – Fragments from the Song of Songs, op. 29, for soprano and orchestra
Ingvar Lidholm – Mutanza, for orchestra
György Ligeti – Apparitions, for orchestra (1958–59)
Otto Luening – Fantasia, for string quartet and orchestra
Witold Lutosławski –
Dance Preludes, version for 9 instruments
Piosenki dziecinne (3), for voice and piano
Elizabeth Maconchy – A Hymn to God the Father, for tenor and piano
Bruno Maderna –
L’altro mondo, ovvero Gli stati e imperi della luna, music for a radio play by A. Brissoni, after Jonathan Swift's Gulliver’s Travels
Piano Concerto
Donald Martino – Trio, for violin, clarinet, and piano
Bohuslav Martinů –
The Burden of Moab, cantata, for male voices and piano
Impromptus (2), for harpsichord
Madrigaly, for mixed voices
Mikeš z hor, chamber cantata, for solo voices, chorus, 2 violins, viola, and piano
Musique de chambre no. 1, for clarinet, violin, viola, cello, harp, and piano
Nonet, for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, violin, viola, cello, and double bass
Pièce, for 2 cellos
Písničky pro dětský sbor, for children’s choir
The Prophecy of Isaiah, cantata, for solo voices, male chorus, trumpet, viola, piano, and timpani
Ptačí hody, for children’s voices and trumpet
Variations on a Slovak Folksong, for cello and piano
Vigilie, for organ
Znělka, for children’s voices
Yoritsune Matsudaira –
Danse sacrée et Danse finale, for orchestra
Katsura, for soprano, flute, guitar, harp, harpsichord, and percussion
Toshirō Mayuzumi –
Campanology, electronic music
Sange, for male choir
Shukukon-ka [Wedding Song], for chorus and orchestra
U so ri, oratorio
Peter Mennin – Sonata concertante, for violin and piano
Darius Milhaud –
Burma Road, op. 375, incidental music for television
Mother Courage, op. 379, incidental music for the play by Bertolt Brecht
Sonatina, op. 378, for viola and piano
Symphonie concertante, op. 376, for bassoon, horn, trumpet, double bass, and orchestra
Symphony No. 9, op. 380
Federico Mompou – Impresiones intimas, for piano (revised version)
Makoto Moroi –
Chamber Cantata No. 2
Pitagoras no hoshi [Stars of Pythagoras], music drama, for solo voice, instruments, and tape
Thea Musgrave –
Scottish Dance Suite, for orchestra
Triptych, for tenor and orchestra
Bo Nilsson –
Ett blocks timme, cantata for soprano and chamber orchestra
Stenogram, for organ
Brief an Gösta Oswald, cantata trilogy
Ein irrender Sohn, for alto, alto flute, and chamber ensemble
Mädchentotenlieder, for soprano, alto flute, and chamber ensemble
Und die Zeiger seiner Augen wurden langsam zurückgedreht, for alto or soprano and orchestra
Luigi Nono – Composizione no. 2 (Diario polacco ‘58), for orchestra
Andrzej Panufnik –
Pieśni ludowych (5) unison choir, 2 flutes, 2 clarinets, and bass clarinet (revised version)
Polonia, suite for orchestra
Arvo Pärt –
Meie aed, op. 3, for children’s chorus and orchestra
Sonatine, op. 1, no. 2, for piano
Vincent Persichetti –
Song of Peace, op. 82, for TTBB/SATB choir and piano
String Quartet No. 3, op. 81
Michel Philippot – Composition No. 1, for string orchestra
Walter Piston –
Concerto, for 2 pianos and orchestra
Three New England Sketches, for orchestra
Quincy Porter –
Concerto for harpsichord and orchestra
Concerto (Concertino), for wind orchestra
Henri Pousseur –
Préhistoire du cinéma, 1–track tape
Rimes pour différentes sources sonores, for 3 orchestral groups and 2-track tape
Juan Orrego-Salas –
Alabanzas a la Virgen, op. 49, for soprano or tenor and piano
Garden Songs, op. 47, for soprano, flute, viola, and harp
Angelo Paccagnini – Canti brevi: secondo libro, for voice and soprano
George Perle – Wind Quintet No. 1
Allan Pettersson – Symphony No. 4 (1958–59)
H. Owen Reed –
Che-Ba-Kun-Ah (Road of Souls), for band, or for winds and string quartet
Renascence, for band
George Rochberg – Bartókiana, for piano
Ned Rorem –
"Memory", for voice and piano
Miracles of Christmas, for SATB choir and organ
"My Papa's Waltz", for voice and piano
"Night Crow", for voice and piano
"Root Cellar", for voice and piano
Two Poems of Theodore Roethke, for voice and piano
"The Waking", for voice and piano
Hilding Rosenberg –
Glaukes sånger (revised version), for voice and piano
Quintet for winds
Riflessioni No. 1, for string orchestra
Sonata, for solo flute
Songs (4), for voice and piano
Frederic Rzewski – Poem, for piano
Vadim Salmanov – Symphony No. 2 in G
Domingo Santa Cruz – String Quartet No. 3, op. 31
Giacinto Scelsi – Quattro pezzi su una nota sola ["Four pieces each on a single note"]
Bogusław Schaeffer – Concerto breve for cello
Pierre Schaeffer – Etudes aux objets
R. Murray Schafer – In memoriam: Alberto Guerrero, for string orchestra
Hermann Schroeder –
Missa figuralis, for choir, instruments, and organ
Partita Veni Creator Spiritus', for organ
Quartet No. 3, for oboe, violin, viola, and cello
Heino Schubert –
Missa "unanimi voce", for chorus and organ
Stücke (4), for piano 4-hands
Gunther Schuller –
Abstraction, for nine instruments
Concertino, for jazz quartet and orchestra
Conversations, for jazz qartet and string quartet
William Schuman – Violin Concerto (revised version)
Makoto Shinohara –
Kassouga, for flute and piano
Pièces concertantes (3), for trumpet and piano
Dmitri Shostakovich – Cello Concerto No. 1
Karlheinz Stockhausen –
Refrain, for three players
Zyklus, for a percussionist
Igor Stravinsky –
Double Canon: Raoul Dufy in memoriam, for four instruments
Epitaphium, "Für das Grabmal des Prinzen Max Egon zu Fürstenberg", for flute, clarinet, and harp
Carlos Surinach – Concerto for Orchestra
Tōru Takemitsu –
Ikari wo komete furikaereba [Looking Back with Rage], incidental music
Kaizoku [A Pirate], incidental music
Saegirarenai kyūsoku [Uninterrupted Rest] I–III, for piano
Scene, for cello and string orchestra
Shiseru ōjo [A Dead Princess], incidental music
Randall Thompson –
Frostiana, for 3–7 voices and piano or orchestra
The Gate of Heaven, 4-part choir
Virgil Thomson –
Bertha (incidental music for the play by K. Koch)
Collected Poems (K. Koch), for soprano, baritone, and orchestra
Fugues and Cantilenas for orchestra
Lamentations, for accordion
Mostly about Love (Four Songs for Alice Estey), for voice and piano
Michael Tippett – Lullaby, for 6 solo voices: alto, two sopranos, two tenors, and bass
Erich Urbanner – Concertino, for flute and orchestra
Vladimir Ussachevsky –
The Boy Who Saw Through, film score
Studies in Sound, Plus, for tape
David Van Vactor – Symphony No. 3
Santiago Velasco Llanos – "O salutaris hostia", motet for chorus
Heitor Villa-Lobos –
Concerto Grosso, for wind quartet and wind ensemble
Suite No. 1, for chamber orchestra
Suite No. 2, for chamber orchestra
William Walton –
Anon in Love, 6 songs for tenor and guitar or orchestra
March: A History of the English-speaking Peoples, incidental music for ABC TV
A Queen’s Fanfare, for brass
Egon Wellesz –
Lieder aus Wien, op. 82, for voice and piano
Quintet, op.81 for clarinet and string quartet
Rhapsodie, op. 87, for viola
Healey Willan –
Passacaglia and Fugue no. 2 in E minor, op. 178, for organ
Poem for Strings, op. 82, version for string orchestra
Grace Williams – All Seasons Shall Be Sweet
Charles Wuorinen –
Musica duarum partium ecclesiastica, for brass quintet, timpani, piano, and organ
Symphony No. 3
Trio concertante, for oboe, violin, and piano
La Monte Young –
Sarabande, for any instruments
Studies I, II, and III, for piano
Vision, for piano, 2 brass, recorder, 4 bassoons, violin, viola, cello, and double bass
Jōji Yuasa – Projection Topologic, for piano
Iannis Xenakis –
Analogique B, for 2-track tape
Duel for Two Small Orchestras
Syrmos, for 12 violins, 3 cellos, and 3 double basses
Çesk Zadeja – Atdheu im, cantata for tenor and mixed chorus
Samuel Adler – The Outcast of Poker Flat
Jurriaan Andriessen – Kalchas
Claude Arrieu – La cabine téléphonique (March 15, 1959, RTF)
Henk Badings – Salto mortale (TV chamber opera), Nederlandse Televisie Sichting, June 19, 1959
Samuel Barber – A Hand of Bridge
Grażyna Bacewicz – Przygoda króla Artura
Karl-Birger Blomdahl – Aniara
Carlos Chávez – Love Propitiated October 28, 1959, Mexico City (revised version of Panfilo e Lauretta)
Paul Dessau – Puntila
Ferenc Farkas – Paradies der Schwiegersöhne
Nicolas Flagello – The Judgment of St Francis
Lukas Foss – Introductions and Goodbyes (a nine-minute opera, libretto by Gian Carlo Menotti)
Peggy Glanville-Hicks – The Glittering Gate (New York, May 15, 1959)
Jakov Gotovac – Stanac
Alan Hovhaness – Blue Flame, op. 172
Sven-Eric Johanson – Kunskapens vin
Elizabeth Maconchy – The Sofa
Carl Orff – Oedipus der Tyrann (Stuttgart, December 11, 1959)
Francis Poulenc – La Voix humaine
Aladdin (Cole Porter) London production opened at the Coliseum on December 17.
Destry Rides Again Broadway production opened at the Imperial Theatre on April 23 and ran for 472 performances
Fings Ain't Wot They Used T'Be (Lionel Bart) Stratford production opened at the Theatre Royal on April 17 and ran for 63 performances
Fiorello! Broadway production opened at the Broadhurst Theatre on November 23 and ran for 795 performances
Gypsy (Jule Styne and Stephen Sondheim) Broadway production opened at The Broadway Theatre on May 21 and ran for 702 performances
Hooray for Daisy London production opened at the Lyric Opera House, Hammersmith on December 20 and ran for 51 performances
Juno (Marc Blitzstein) Broadway production opened at the Winter Garden Theatre, New York, March 9, 1959, and ran for 16 performances
Kawaii onna (Toshirō Mayuzumi), Osaka
Lend An Ear Broadway revival opened at the Renata Theatre on September 24 and ran for 94 performances
Little Mary Sunshine Off-Broadway production opened at the Orpheum Theatre on November 18 and ran for 1143 performances.
Lock Up Your Daughters (Lionel Bart) London production opened at the Mermaid Theatre on May 28 and ran for 328 performances
The Love Doctor London production opened at the Piccadilly Theatre on October 12 and ran for only 16 performances.
On the Town Broadway revival opened at the Carnegie Hall Playhouse on January 15 and ran for 70 performances
Redhead Broadway production opened at the 46th Street Theatre on February 5 and ran for 405 performances
The Sound of Music (Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II) Broadway production opened at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on November 16 and ran for 1443 performances.
Take Me Along Broadway production opened at the Shubert Theatre on October 22 and ran for 448 performances
Expresso Bongo British film starring Laurence Harvey
Char Dil Char Rahen, music by Anil Biswas, starring Raj Kapoor and Shammi Kapoor
Dil Deke Dekho, music by Usha Khanna, starring Asha Parekh
The Five Pennies starring Danny Kaye
Go, Johnny, Go starring Jimmy Clanton and Sandy Stewart, and featuring Chuck Berry, Jackie Wilson, Ritchie Valens, The Cadillacs, Jo-Ann Campbell, The Flamingos and Eddie Cochran.
Li'l Abner featuring most of the cast of the original Broadway production
The Lady is a Square starring Anna Neagle, Frankie Vaughan, Janette Scott, Anthony Newley and Wilfrid Hyde-White
Porgy And Bess, based on 1935 stage play, directed by Otto Preminger, starring Sidney Poitier, Dorothy Dandridge, and Sammy Davis, Jr.
Say One for Me starring Bing Crosby and Debbie Reynolds
Tommy the Toreador starring Tommy Steele
Sleeping Beauty from Walt Disney Pictures (animated)
January 3 – Curt Bisquera, drummer
January 6 – Kathy Sledge, vocalist (Sister Sledge)
January 7 – Kathy Valentine (The Go-Go's)
January 8 – Paul Hester, drummer (Crowded House) (died 2005)
January 10 – Curt Kirkwood (Meat Puppets)
January 12
Per Gessle (Roxette)
Blixa Bargeld (Einstürzende Neubauten)
January 14
Chas Smash (Madness)
Geoff Tate (Queensrÿche)
January 16 – Sade, singer
January 17
Susanna Hoffs, singer (The Bangles)
Momoe Yamaguchi, former singer and actress
January 28
Dave Sharp, English guitarist (The Alarm and The Hard Travelers)
Bill Ware, American vibraphone player Dave Sharp (The Alarm)
January 30 – Jody Watley, singer
February 3 – Lol Tolhurst, The Cure
February 14 – Renée Fleming, operatic soprano
February 15 – Ali Campbell, ska musician (UB40)
February 25 – Mike Peters, singer and songwriter (The Alarm)
March 7 – Andy Diagram, trumpet player
March 16 – Flavor Flav (Public Enemy)
March 17 – Mike Lindup, keyboard player and vocalist (Level 42)
March 21 – Nobuo Uematsu, video game composer
March 27 – Andrew Farriss (INXS)
March 29 – Perry Farrell (Jane's Addiction)
April 10
Babyface, musician and record producer
Brian Setzer, guitarist and singer (The Stray Cats)
April 21
Jerry Only, American singer-songwriter and bass player (The Misfits, Osaka Popstar, and Kryst the Conqueror)
Michael Timmins (Cowboy Junkies)
Robert Smith, singer (The Cure)
April 27
Marco Pirroni, guitarist (Adam and the Ants, Siouxsie and the Banshees (founder member), The Models, The Wolfmen)
Sheena Easton, singer
May 3 – David Ball, Soft Cell
May 4 – Randy Travis, country singer
May 5 – Ian McCulloch, singer (Echo & the Bunnymen)
May 20 – Susan Cowsill (The Cowsills, Continental Drifters)
May 22 – Morrissey, singer-songwriter
May 28 – Steve Strange, singer (Visage) (d. 2015)
June 1 – Alan Wilder (Depeche Mode)
June 11 – Kathinka Pasveer, flautist
June 12 – John Linnell (They Might Be Giants)
June 19 – Mark DeBarge (DeBarge)
June 21
Marcella Detroit, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Shakespear's Sister)
Kathy Mattea, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
June 22 – Alan Anton (Cowboy Junkies)
June 24 – Andy McCluskey (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark)
June 29 – Buren Fowler, American guitarist (Drivin N Cryin) (d. 2014)
July 3 – Stephen Pearcy (Ratt)
July 5 – Marc Cohn, singer-songwriter
July 9
Jim Kerr, singer (Simple Minds)
Marc Almond, singer Soft Cell
July 11
Richie Sambora (Bon Jovi)
Suzanne Vega, singer-songwriter
July 16 – James MacMillan, composer and conductor
July 20 – Radney Foster, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (Foster & Lloyd)
August 1 – Joe Elliott (Def Leppard)
August 9 – Kurtis Blow, rapper
August 31 – Tony DeFranco, singer (The DeFranco Family)
September 8 – Daler Nazarov, Tajik composer, singer, and actor
September 14 – Morten Harket, singer (a-ha)
October 1 – Youssou N'Dour, Senegalese singer
October 4 – Chris Lowe, keyboardist (Pet Shop Boys)
October 10 – Kirsty MacColl, English singer (d. 2000)
October 13 – Marie Osmond, singer
October 16
Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet)
Erkki-Sven Tüür, composer
October 23 – "Weird Al" Yankovic, parodist
October 25 – Christina Amphlett, Australian rock singer
November 1 – Eddie MacDonald (The Alarm)
November 5 – Bryan Adams, singer/guitarist
November 27 – Charlie Burchill (Simple Minds)
November 29 – Steve Hindalong, record producer
December 4 – Bob Griffin (The BoDeans)
December 30 – Tracey Ullman, comedian and singer
December 31
Baron Waqa, Nauruan politician and composer
Paul Westerberg, singer, guitarist and songwriter (The Replacements)
January 6 – José Enrique Pedreira, composer, 54
February 3, in a plane crash (see Events)
Buddy Holly, singer, songwriter and guitarist, 22
Ritchie Valens, singer, songwriter and guitarist, 17
The Big Bopper, disc jockey, singer, and songwriter, 28
February 12 – George Antheil, pianist and composer, 58 (heart attack)
February 13 – William Axt, film composer, 70
February 14 – Baby Dodds, jazz musician, 60
February 18 – Erich Zeisl, composer, 53 (heart attack)
February 28 – Maxwell Anderson, lyricist, 70
March 1 – Mack Gordon, songwriter, 54
March 15 – Lester Young, jazz musician, 49 (liver disease and malnutrition)
March 25 – Billy Mayerl, English pianist and composer, 56 (heart attack)
April 20 – Edward Johnson, operatic tenor, 80
May 14 – Sidney Bechet, jazz musician, 62
May 29 – Frank Marshall, pianist and teacher, 75
June 9 – Sonnie Hale, English actor and singer, 57 (myelofibrosis)
July 15 – Ernest Bloch, composer, 78
July 17 – Billie Holiday, jazz and blues singer, 44 (liver and heart disease)
August 15 – Blind Willie McTell, blues singer, 61
August 16 – Wanda Landowska, harpsichordist, 80
August 17 – Pedro Humberto Allende, composer and ethnomusicologist, 74
August 28 – Bohuslav Martinů, composer, 68
September 1 – Jack Norworth, singer and songwriter, 80
September 6 – Kay Kendall, musical comedy actress, 33 (leukaemia)
September 8 – Mohammed El-Bakkar, Lebanese tenor, oud player, and conductor, 46 (cerebral hemorrhage)
September 11 – Ann Drummond-Grant, operatic contralto, 54
September 17 – Omer Simeon, jazz musician, 57 (throat cancer)
September 21 – Agnes Nicholls, operatic soprano, 83
September 22
Josef Matthias Hauer, composer, 76
Jane Winton, actress, dancer, operatic soprano, writer, and painter, 53
September 25 – Helen Broderick, Broadway star, 68
September 28 – Gerard Hoffnung, artist, comedian, and musician, 34 (cerebral haemorrhage)
October 7 – Mario Lanza, operatic tenor, 38 (pulmonary embolism)
November 7 – Alberto Guerrero, pianist and composer, 73
November 17 – Heitor Villa-Lobos, composer, 72
November 22 – Sam M. Lewis, lyricist, 74
November 26 – Albert Ketèlbey, composer, conductor and pianist, 84
November 29 – Fritz Brun, Swiss composer and conductor, 81
December 20 – Gilda Gray, dancer, 58 (heart attack)
date unknown
Clotilde Arias, songwriter
Susan Metcalfe Casals, operatic mezzo-soprano
Eurovision Song Contest 1959
Grammy Awards of 1959
John La Montaine – Piano Concerto
