1955 in music

List of years in music       (table)
... 1945 .  1946 .  1947 .  1948  . 1949  . 1950  . 1951 ... 1952 1953 1954 -1955- 1956 1957 1958 ... 1959 .  1960 .  1961 .  1962  . 1963  . 1964  . 1965 ...
Art . Archaeology . Architecture . Literature . Music . Science +...

Pete Seeger in 1955

Events

List of years in music       (table)
... 1945 .  1946 .  1947 .  1948  . 1949  . 1950  . 1951 ... 1952 1953 1954 -1955- 1956 1957 1958 ... 1959 .  1960 .  1961 .  1962  . 1963  . 1964  . 1965 ...
Art . Archaeology . Architecture . Literature . Music . Science +...

• January 1 – RCA Victor announces a marketing plan called "Operation TNT." The label drops the list price on LPs from $5.95 to $3.98, EPs from $4.95 to $2.98, 45 EPs from $1.58 to $1.49 and 45's from $1.16 to $.89. Other record labels follow RCA's lead and begin to drop prices as well.
• January 7 – "Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley & His Comets first appears on the British charts.
• January 14 – In New York City, Alan Freed produces the first rock and roll concert.
• February 19 – Dot Records introduces a new singer, Pat Boone, with an advertisement in Billboard magazine calling him "a great new voice"
• February 26 – For the first time since their introduction in 1949, 45 rpm discs begin to outsell standard 78s.
• Kay Starr leaves Capitol to sign with RCA
• March 15 – Colonel Tom Parker becomes Elvis Presley's manager
• March 19 – The film Blackboard Jungle is premièred in New York City. The film features Bill Haley & His Comets' "Rock Around the Clock" over the opening credits—the first use of a rock and roll song in a major film.
• March 22 – Decca Records signs DJ Alan Freed as an A&R man.
• March 26 – Bill Hayes tops the US charts for five weeks with "The Ballad of Davy Crockett" and starts a (fake) coonskin cap craze.
• May 13 – First riot at an Elvis Presley concert takes place in Jacksonville, FL
• May 21 – Chuck Berry records his first single, "Maybelline" for Chess Records in Chicago.
• May 22 – Bridgeport, CT authorities cancel a rock concert to be headlined by Fats Domino for fear of a riot breaking out.
• June – The newly-formed Netherlands Chamber Orchestra gives its first performance at the Holland Festival.
• July 9 – "Rock Around the Clock" becomes the first Rock and roll single to reach Number One on the American charts.
• July 13 – The Beaux Arts Trio make their debut at the Berkshire Music Festival.
• August 19 – WINS radio station in New York City adopts policy of not playing white cover versions of black R&B songs.
• August 31 – A Londoner is fined for "creating an abominable noise" for playing "Shake, Rattle, and Roll" at top volume.
• September 3 – Little Richard records "Tutti Frutti" with significantly cleaned up lyrics (originally "Tutti Frutti, good booty" among other things).
• September 26 – "America's Sweethearts," Eddie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds marry.
• October 15 – Elvis Presley plays a concert in Lubbock, Texas. Opening act is local duo Buddy and Bob. Buddy is future rock star Buddy Holly.
• November 12 – Billboard magazine DJ poll names Elvis Presley as the most promising new country/western singer.
• November 20 – Bo Diddley makes his debut TV appearance on Ed Sullivan's "Toast Of The Town" show on CBS.
• November 22 – Colonel Tom Parker signs Elvis Presley to RCA Records.
• December – The Temperance Seven is founded, with three members.
• December 15 – Sun Records releases "Folsom Prison Blues" by Johnny Cash.
• Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel copyright a song, "The Girl For Me," with the Library of Congress and begin singing together as a duo while still in high school in New York, New York.
• Mirella Freni makes her debut as Micaela in Carmen at Modena.
• Nine-year-old Al Green forms a gospel quartet, the Green Brothers.
• Clyde McPhatter launches a solo career.
• Renato Carosone and Nicola Salerno meet and start their songwriting partnership
• Italian singers Natalino Otto and Flo Sandon's wed.
• Shivkumar Sharma gives his first public performance in Bombay.
• Aloys and Alfons Kontarsky begin performing as a piano duo.

Albums released

In 1955, 1,615 albums and 4,542 pop singles were released in the US.

• At the Cafe Bohemia, Vol. 1 – The Jazz Messengers
• At the Cafe Bohemia, Vol. 2 – The Jazz Messengers
• Day Dreams – Doris Day
• Blue Moods – Miles Davis
• Clifford Brown with Strings – Clifford Brown
• Cloud 7 – Tony Bennett
• Concert by the Sea – Erroll Garner
• Dinner in Caracas – Aldemaro Romero
• Doris Day in Hollywood – Doris Day
• Eddie Fisher Sings Academy Award Winning Songs – Eddie Fisher
• Especially for You... – Teresa Brewer
• Four Brothers – The Ames Brothers
• Happy Holiday – Jo Stafford
• The Hi-Lo's, I Presume – The Hi-Lo’s
• I Cry for You – Johnnie Ray
• I Love You – Eddie Fisher
• I'm in the Mood for Love – Eddie Fisher
• In a Blue Mood – Kay Starr
• In a Romantic Mood – Oscar Peterson
• In the Land of Hi-Fi – Sarah Vaughan
• In the Wee Small Hours – Frank Sinatra
• Jazz Spectacular – Frankie Laine & Buck Clayton
• Julie Is Her Name – Julie London
• Love Me or Leave Me – Doris Day
• Lovers' Laine – Frankie Laine
• Meet Betty Carter and Ray Bryant – Betty Carter and Ray Bryant
• Memory Songs – Jo Stafford
• Miles Davis Volume 1 – Miles Davis
• Miles Davis Volume 2 – Miles Davis
• Miles: The New Miles Davis Quintet – Miles Davis
• The Misty Miss Christy – June Christy
• Moments to Remember – The Four Lads
• Music Ala Carte – The Crew Cuts
• Musings of Miles – Miles Davis
• Noël Coward at Las Vegas – Noël Coward
• Oklahoma! – Original Broadway Cast
• Oscar Peterson Plays Count Basie – Oscar Peterson
• The One, the Only Kay Starr – Kay Starr
• Quintet/Sextet – Miles Davis
• Rain or Shine – Dick Haymes
• Rock Around the Clock – Bill Haley & His Comets
• Romance on the Range – Patti Page
• Satch Plays Fats – Louis Armstrong
• Shake, Rattle and Roll – Bill Haley & His Comets
• Shostakovitch: Symphony No. 10 in E Minor, Op. 93. Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra of New York, Dimitri Mitropoulos, condector. 12-inch LP. Columbia Masterworks ML 4959.
• So Smooth – Perry Como
• Soft and Sentimental – Jo Stafford
• Songs of Scotland – Jo Stafford
• Songs from Pete Kelly's Blues – Peggy Lee, Ella Fitzgerald
• Starring Sammy Davis, Jr. - Sammy Davis, Jr.
• Study in Brown – Clifford Brown and Max Roach
• Swingin' Down Yonder – Dean Martin
• Thelonious Monk plays the Music of Duke Ellington – Thelonious Monk
• Voice of our Choice – Guy Mitchell

Biggest hit singles

The following singles achieved the highest chart positions in the set of charts available for 1955.

#	Artist	Title	Year	Country	Chart Entries
1	Bill Haley & His Comets	Rock Around the Clock	1955		UK 1 – Oct 1955, US BB 1 – May 1955, US BB 1 of 1955, DDD 1 of 1954, POP 1 of 1955, Italy 3 of 1957, Global 4 (20 M sold) – 1954, Europe 5 of the 1950s, Scrobulate 8 of rock & roll, RIAA 12, Germany 17 – Jun 1968, Holland 27 – Jun 1968, 41 in 2FM list, Acclaimed 49, AFI 50, Rolling Stone 158, Party 180 of 1999
2	Tennessee Ernie Ford	Sixteen Tons	1955		UK 1 – Jan 1956, US BB 1 – Nov 1955, Australia 1 for 6 weeks May 1955, RYM 13 of 1955, US BB 20 of 1955, POP 20 of 1955, DDD 49 of 1955, RIAA 83, Acclaimed 276
3	Four Aces	Love is a Many Splendoured Thing	1955		US BB 1 – Aug 1955, Oscar in 1955, UK 2 – Nov 1955, Peel list 2 of 1955, Italy 3 of 1956, US BB 9 of 1955, POP 9 of 1955, RYM 29 of 1955
4	Chuck Berry	Maybellene	1955		RYM 1 of 1955, DDD 2 of 1955, US BB 5 – Aug 1955, US BB 6 of 1955, POP 6 of 1955, Scrobulate 17 of rock & roll, Rolling Stone 18, Acclaimed 99
5	Frank Sinatra	Love & Marriage	1955		US BB 2 of 1955, POP 2 of 1955, UK 3 – Jan 1956, US BB 5 – Nov 1955, Holland 9 – Apr 1991, RYM 16 of 1955, Scrobulate 47 of relaxing, Europe 83 of the 1950s

US No. 1 hit singles

These singles reached the top of US Billboard magazine's charts in 1955.

First week	Number of weeks	Title	Artist
January 22, 1955	2	"Let Me Go, Lover"	Joan Weber
February 5, 1955	1	"Hearts of Stone"	Fontane Sisters
February 12, 1955	6	"Sincerely"	McGuire Sisters
March 26, 1955	5	"The Ballad of Davy Crockett"	Bill Hayes
April 30, 1955	10	"Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White"	Perez Prado
July 9, 1955	8	"Rock Around the Clock"	Bill Haley & His Comets
September 3, 1955	5	"The Yellow Rose of Texas"	Mitch Miller
October 8, 1955	1	"Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing"	The Four Aces
October 15, 1955	1	"The Yellow Rose of Texas"	Mitch Miller
October 22, 1955	1	"Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing"	The Four Aces
October 29, 1955	4	"Autumn Leaves"	Roger Williams
November 26, 1955	7	"Sixteen Tons"	Tennessee Ernie Ford

Top hits on record

• "Ain't That A Shame" – Pat Boone
• "Arrivederci Roma" – Georgia Gibbs
• "Band Of Gold" – Don Cherry
• "A Blossom Fell" – Nat King Cole
• "The Crazy Otto Medley" – Johnny Maddox
• "Cherry Pink And Apple Blossom White" – Perez Prado
• "Cool Water" – Frankie Laine
• "Croce Di Oro" – Patti Page
• "Cry Me a River" – Julie London
• "Dance With Me, Henry" – Georgia Gibbs
• "Danger! Heartbreak Ahead" – Jaye P. Morgan
• "Darling, Je Vous Aime Beaucoup" – Nat King Cole
• "Earth Angel" – The Crew Cuts
• "Gum Drop" – The Crew Cuts
• "The Great Pretender" – The Platters
• "Hawkeye" – Frankie Laine
• "He", recorded by
  • Al Hibbler
  • McGuire Sisters
• "Heart" – Eddie Fisher
• "How Important Can It Be?" – Joni James
• "Hummingbird", recorded by
  • Frankie Laine
  • Les Paul and Mary Ford
• "I Hear You Knocking" – Gale Storm
• "I Need You Now" – Eddie Fisher
• "I Want You to Be My Baby" – Georgia Gibbs
• "If I Give My Heart to You", recorded by
  • Doris Day
  • Denise Lor
• "In The Beginning" – Frankie Laine
• "It's A Sin To Tell A Lie" – Somethin' Smith and the Redheads
• "Let Me Go, Lover" – Joan Weber
• "Let's Go Fishin'" – Frankie Laine & Jimmy Boyd
• "Love Is A Many-Splendored Thing" – The Four Aces featuring Al Alberts
• "Love Me Or Leave Me" – Doris Day
• "Maybelline" – Chuck Berry
• "Melody of Love" – Billy Vaughn
• "Memories Are Made Of This" – Dean Martin
• "Moments to Remember" – The Four Lads
• "My Friend" – Frankie Laine
• "Never Look Back" – Doris Day
• "Only You (And You Alone)" – The Platters
• "Playmates" – The Fontane Sisters
• "Rock Around The Clock" – Bill Haley & His Comets
• "Rock And Roll Waltz" – Kay Starr
• "Same Old Saturday Night" – Frank Sinatra
• "Seventeen" – The Fontane Sisters
• "Sincerely" – McGuire Sisters
• "Sixteen Tons", recorded by
  • Tennessee Ernie Ford
  • Frankie Laine
• "Smack Dab In The Middle" – The Mills Brothers
• "Song Of Seventeen" – Petty King
• "Speedo" – The Cadillacs
• "Stars Fell On Alabama" – Frankie Laine & Buck Clayton
• "Suddenly There's A Valley" – Gogi Grant
• "Teenage Prayer" – Gale Storm
• "That Old Feeling", recorded by
  • Frankie Laine & Buck Clayton
  • Patti Page
• "That's All I Want from You" – Jaye P. Morgan
• "Tweedle Dee" – Georgia Gibbs
• "Unchained Melody", recorded by
  • Les Baxter
  • Roy Hamilton
  • Al Hibbler
• "A Woman in Love" – Frankie Laine
• "The Yellow Rose Of Texas" – Mitch Miller & The Gang
• "You Are My Love" – Joni James

Top R&B and Country Hits on record

• "Ain't That A Shame" – Fats Domino
• "Earth Angel" – The Penguins
• "Flip, Flop and Fly" – Big Joe Turner
• "Tutti Frutti" – Little Richard
• "Tweedle Dee" – LaVern Baker
• "Folsom Prison Blues" – Johnny Cash

Published popular music

• "Adelaide" – w.m. Frank Loesser
• "Ain't That A Shame" – w.m. Antoine Domino & Dave Bartholomew
• "Ain't That Lovin' You Baby" – w.m. Jimmy Reed
• "All At Once You Love Her" – w. Oscar Hammerstein II m. Richard Rodgers
• "Arrivederci Roma" – w. (Eng) Carl Sigman m. Renato Ranucci
• "Ballad Of Davy Crockett" – w. Tom Blackburn m. George Bruns
• "Band Of Gold" – w. Bob Musel m. Jack Taylor
• "The Bible Tells Me So" – w.m. Dale Evans
• "Black Denim Trousers And Motorcycle Boots" – w.m. Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller
• "Blue Monday" – w.m. Antoine "Fats" Domino & Dave Bartholomew
• "Blue Star" w. Edward Heyman m. Victor Young
• "Blue Suede Shoes" – w.m. Carl Perkins
• "Bo Diddley" – w.m. Ellas McDaniel
• "Charlie Brown" – w.m. Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller
• "Christmas Alphabet" – Buddy Kaye, Jules Loman
• "Dance With Me, Henry" – w.m. Johnny Otis, Hank Ballard & Etta James aka "Wallflower"
• "Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)" – trad West Indies arr. William Attaway and Irving Burgie (aka Lord Burgess)
• "Domani" – w. Tony Velona m. Ulpio Minucci
• "Don't Be Angry" – w.m. Nappy Brown, Rose Marie McCoy & Fred Mendelsohn
• "Dreamboat" – w.m. Jack Hoffman
• "Dungaree Doll" – w. Ben Raleigh m. Sherman Edwards
• "Folsom Prison Blues" – w.m. Johnny Cash
• "Forever Darling" w. Sammy Cahn m. Bronislau Kaper. Introduced by Desi Arnaz in the 1956 film Forever, Darling
• "The Great Pretender" – w.m. Buck Ram
• "Hallelujah I Love Her So" – w.m. Ray Charles
• "He" – w. Jack Mullan m. Jack Richards
• "He's a Tramp" w.m. Peggy Lee and Sonny Burke. Introduced by Peggy Lee in the animated film Lady and the Tramp
• "Heart" – w.m. Richard Adler & Jerry Ross
• "Hey, Mister Banjo" – w.m. Freddy Morgan & Norman Malkin
• "I Hear You Knocking" – w.m. Dave Bartholomew & Pearl King
• "I Never Has Seen Snow" – w. Truman Capote & Harold Arlen m. Harold Arlen
• "I'll Never Stop Loving You" w. Sammy Cahn m. Nicholas Brodszky. Introduced by Doris Day in the film Love Me or Leave Me.
• "I'm In Love Again" – w.m. Antoine Domino & Dave Bartholomew
• "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning" w. Bob Hilliard m. Dave Mann
• "Innamorata" – w. Jack Brooks m. Harry Warren Introduced by Dean Martin in the film Artists and Models
• "It's Almost Tomorrow" – w. Wade Buff m. Gene Adkinson
• "Jamaica Farewell" – w.m. Lord Burgess
• "Jim Dandy" – w.m. Lincoln Chase
• "Ko Ko Mo (I Love You So)" – w.m. Forest Wilson, Jake Porter & Eunice Levy
• "Learnin' The Blues" – w.m. Dolores Vicki Silvers
• "Life Could Not Better Be" – w.m. Sylvia Fine & Sammy Cahn. Introduced by Danny Kaye in the film The Court Jester.
• "Little One" – w.m. Cole Porter
• "Love and Marriage" – w. Sammy Cahn m. James Van Heusen
• "Love Is A Many-Splendored Thing" – w. Paul Francis Webster m. Sammy Fain
• "Maybelline" – w.m. Chuck Berry, Russ Frato & Alan Freed
• "Memories Are Made Of This" – w.m. Terry Gilkyson, Rich Dehr & Frank Miller
• "Mind if I Make Love to You?" – w.m. Cole Porter
• "Moments To Remember" – w. Al Stillman m. Robert Allen
• "Mr. Wonderful" – w.m. Jerry Bock, George David Weiss & Larry Holofcener
• "My Boy - Flat Top" – w.m. Boyd Bennett & John Young Jr
• "No, Not Much" – w. Al Stillman m. Robert Allen
• "Once-A-Year Day" – w.m. Richard Adler & Jerry Ross from the musical The Pajama Game
• "An Occasional Man" w.m. Ralph Blane & Hugh Martin. Introduced by Gloria DeHaven in the film The Girl Rush
• "Paper Roses" – w. Janice Torre m. Fred Spielman
• "Pet Me Poppa" – w.m. Frank Loesser
• "Pete Kelly's Blues" – w. Sammy Cahn m. Ray Heindorf
• "Relax-Ay-Voo" – Sammy Cahn & Arthur Schwartz
• "Robin Hood" w.m. Carl Sigman. Theme song of the Television series starring Richard Greene.
• "The Rock And Roll Waltz" – w. Dick Ware m. Shorty Allen
• "Rock-A-Beatin' Boogie" – w.m. Bill Haley
• "Same Old Saturday Night" – w. Sammy Cahn m. Frank Reardon
• "See You Later Alligator" – w.m. Robert Guidry
• "Seven-And-A-Half Cents" – w.m. Richard Adler & Jerry Ross
• "The Siamese Cat Song" – w.m. Peggy Lee & Sonny Burke. Introduced by Peggy Lee in the animated film Lady and the Tramp.
• "A Sleepin' Bee" – w. Truman Capote & Harold Arlen m. Harold Arlen. Introduced in the musical House of Flowers by Diahann Carroll, Ada Moore, Dolores Harper and Enid Mosier
• "Smokey Joe's Cafe" – w.m. Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller
• "Softly, Softly" – Pierre Dudan, Paddy Roberts & Mark Paul
• "Something's Gotta Give" – w.m. Johnny Mercer. Introduced by Fred Astaire in the musical film Daddy Long Legs.
• "Speedoo" – w.m. Esther Navarro
• "Stereophonic Sound" – w.m. Cole Porter from the musical Silk Stockings
• "A Story Untold" – Leroy Griffin
• "Suddenly There's A Valley" – w.m. Chuck Meyer & Biff Jones
• "(Love Is) The Tender Trap" w. Sammy Cahn m. James Van Heusen. Introduced by Frank Sinatra in the film The Tender Trap.
• "Theme From "East Of Eden"" – m. Leonard Rosenman
• "Tina Marie" – w.m. Bob Merrill
• "Tutti Frutti" – w.m. Richard Penniman, D. La Bostrie & Joe Lubin
• "Two Lost Souls" – w.m. Richard Adler & Jerry Ross. Introduced by Gwen Verdon and Stephen Douglass in the musical Damn Yankees
• "Unchained Melody" – w. Hy Zaret m. Alex North
• "Wake The Town And Tell The People" – w. Sammy Gallop m. Jerry Livingston
• "The Wallflower" (aka "Dance With Me Henry") – w.m. Johnny Otis, Hank Ballard & Etta James
• "Whatever Lola Wants" – w.m. Richard Adler & Jerry Ross. Introduced by Gwen Verdon in the musical Damn Yankees. Gwen also performed the song in the 1958 film version.
• "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" – w.m. Frankie Lymon & George Goldner
• "A Woman in Love" – w.m. Frank Loesser
• "You Are My Love" w.m. Jimmie Nabbie
• "You Don't Know Me" – w.m. Cindy Walker & Eddy Arnold
• "You're Sensational" – w.m. Cole Porter. Introduced by Frank Sinatra in the musical film High Society

Other notable songs

• "Mera Joota Hai Japani" by Shankar Jaikishan
• "Moscow Nights" by Vasily Solovyov-Sedoy and Mikhail Matusovsky
• "Satumaa" by Unto Mononen

Classical music

• Arthur Bliss – Violin Concerto
• Henry Cowell – Symphony No. 12
• George Crumb
  • Diptych for orchestra
  • Sonata for solo cello
• Mario Davidovsky
  • Quintet for Clarinet and Strings
  • Suite Sinfonica Para "El Payaso" for orchestra
• Einar Englund – Piano Concerto No. 1
• Ferenc Farkas – Bukki Varlatok
• Gerald Finzi – Cello Concerto
• Hans Werner Henze – Symphony No. 4
• Alan Hovhaness – Symphony No. 2 Mysterious Mountain
• Witold Lutosławski – Dance Preludes (2nd version for clarinet and chamber group)
• Bohuslav Martinů
  • The Epic of Gilgamesh
  • Oboe Concerto
• Darius Milhaud
  • Symphony No. 5
  • Symphony No. 6
• Luigi Nono
  • Il Canto Sospeso, for soli, chorus, and orchestra
  • Incontri, for 24 instruments
• Walter Piston – Symphony No. 6
• Edmund Rubbra – Piano Concerto
• John Serry, Sr. – American Rhapsody
• Karlheinz Stockhausen – Klavierstücke V–VIII
• Alexandre Tansman
  • Concerto for Orchestra
  • Capriccio for Orchestra
• Michael Tippett – Sonata for Four Horns
• Ernst Toch – Symphony No. 3
• Ralph Vaughan Williams – Symphony No. 8
• William Walton – Johannesburg Festival Overture
• Franz Waxman – Sinfonietta for Strings and Timpani
• Iannis Xenakis – Pithoprakta for orchestra

Opera

• Carlisle Floyd – Susannah
• Dmitri Kabalevsky – Nikita Vershinin
• Lukas Foss – Griffelkin (opera in three acts, libretto by A. Reed after H. Foss, premiered on November 6, 1955, on NBC television)

Musical theater

Composer Leonard Bernstein in 1955.

• The Amazing Adele – Philadelphia production
• Ankles Aweigh – Broadway production
• Catch A Star – Broadway production
• Damn Yankees (Richard Adler and Jerry Ross) – Broadway production
• Kismet – London production opened at the Stoll Theatre on April 20 and ran for 648 performances
• The Pajama Game (Richard Adler and Jerry Ross) – London production opened at the Coliseum on October 13 and ran for 501 performances
• Phoenix '55 – Broadway production
• Pipe Dream (Rodgers & Hammerstein) – Broadway production
• Plain and Fancy – Broadway production
• Romance in Candlelight London production opened at the Piccadilly Theatre on September 15 and ran for 53 performances
• Seventh Heaven – Broadway production opened at the ANTA Playhouse on May 26 and ran for 44 performances
• Shoestring Revue – Broadway production
• Silk Stockings – Broadway production
• Wonderful Town (Leonard Bernstein, Betty Comden and Adolph Green) – London production opened at the Princes Theatre on February 24 and ran for 207 performances

Musical films

• Artists and Models released November 7 starring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis
• As Long as They're Happy starring Jack Buchanan, Janette Scott, Jeannie Carson, Jerry Wayne, Diana Dors and Joan Sims
• The Benny Goodman Story
• Daddy Long Legs
• Gentlemen Marry Brunettes
• The Girl Rush starring Rosalind Russell, Fernando Lamas, Eddie Albert and Gloria DeHaven.
• It's Always Fair Weather
• Jupiter's Darling starring Howard Keel, Esther Williams, Marge Champion and Gower Champion
• King's Rhapsody starring Anna Neagle and Errol Flynn

• Kismet
• Lady and the Tramp – Animated feature
• Love Me or Leave Me
• Oklahoma!
• Pete Kelly's Blues
• The Seven Little Foys
• A Star Is Born

Musical television

• Heidi – television production
• Our Town – television production
• Together With Music – CBS television production by Noël Coward

Births

• January 3 – Helen O'Hara, British musician
• January 8 – Mike Reno, Loverboy
• January 13
  • Fred White (Earth Wind & Fire)
  • Trevor Rabin (Yes)
• January 17 – Steve Earle, folk singer
• January 19 – Sir Simon Rattle, conductor
• January 26 – Eddie Van Halen, musician
• January 27 – Richard Young (Kentucky Headhunters)
• February 18 – Riff Regan, lead singer of London.
• February 23 – Howard Jones, singer-songwriter
• March 2 – Jay Osmond, singer and songwriter (The Osmonds)
• March 4 – Boon Gould, guitarist (Level 42)
• March 10 – Bunny DeBarge (DeBarge)
• March 15 – Dee Snider (Twisted Sister)
• March 28 – Reba McEntire, country singer
• March 31 – Angus Young (AC/DC)
• April 13 – Louis Johnson, bassist (The Brothers Johnson)
• April 17 – Pete Shelley (Buzzcocks)
• May 9 – Anne Sofie von Otter, operatic mezzo-soprano
• May 12 – Kix Brooks, country singer (Brooks & Dunn)
• May 20
  • Steve George, keyboardist (Mr. Mister)
  • Zbigniew Preisner, composer
• May 21 – Stan Lynch (Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers)
• May 28 – John McGeoch (Magazine, PiL, and Siouxsie and the Banshees) (d. 2004)
• May 29 – Pascal Dusapin, French composer
• May 30 – Topper Headon (The Clash)
• June 7 – Joey Scarbury, singer
• June 23 – Glenn Danzig, lead singer of Danzig
• June 26 – Mick Jones (The Clash)
• June 28 – Thomas Hampson, opera singer
• July 4 – John Waite, singer
• July 10 – Stan Munsey (Shenandoah)
• July 18 – Terry Chambers (XTC)
• July 21 – Howie Epstein (Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers)
• July 25 – Jem Finer (The Pogues)
• August 6 – Eric Paulin, drummer (The Meetles)
• August 17 – Colin Moulding (XTC)
• August 28 – Beres Hammond, reggae singer
• August 29 – Diamanda Galás, singer, composer, pianist and performance artist
• September 3 – Steve Jones (The Sex Pistols)
• September 9 – Ivan Smirnov, guitarist
• September 13 – Andreas Staier, classical harpsichordist and fortepianist
• October 2 – Philip Oakey, singer (The Human League)
• October 7 – Yo-Yo Ma, cellist
• October 16 – Leonid Desyatnikov, composer
• October 21:
  • Fred Hersch, American jazz pianist
  • Rich Mullins, singer-songwriter (d. 1997)
• October 25 – Matthias Jabs (Scorpions)
• October 29 – Kevin Dubrow (Quiet Riot)
• November 21 – Kyle Gann, composer, teacher and critic
• November 23 – Ludovico Einaudi, Italian composer and pianist
• November 30 – Billy Idol, singer
• December 6 – Bright Sheng, composer
• December 15 – Paul Simonon, The Clash
• date unknown – Susan Addison, sackbut player

Deaths

• January 10 – Annette Mills, partner of "Muffin the Mule" (b. 1894)
• February 14 – Charles Cuvillier, composer of operettas, 77
• March 12 – Charlie Parker, jazz saxophonist, 34 (lobar pneumonia, bleeding ulcer and cirrhosis of liver)
• April 10 – Oskar Lindberg, composer, 67
• April 12 – W. H. Anderson, composer, 72
• May 4 – George Enescu, composer, 73
• May 15 – Oskar Adler, violinist and music critic, 79
• May 17 – Francesco Balilla Pratella, composer and musicologist, 75
• June 11 – Marcel Samuel-Rousseau, organist, composer and opera producer, 72
• June 19 – Willy Burkhard, composer, 55
• June 28 - Göta Ljungberg, Wagnerian soprano, 56
• July 4 - Ruth Vincent, operatic soprano, 78
• July 7 – Franco Casavola, Futurist composer, 63
• July 25 – Isaak Dunayevsky, conductor and composer, 55
• August 5 – Carmen Miranda, singer and dancer, 46 (heart attack)
• August 13 - Florence Easton, soprano, 72
• August 22 - Olin Downes, music critic, 69
• August 24 – Edgar Henrichsen, organist and composer, 76
• October 7 - Frieda Hempel, operatic soprano, 70
• October 14 – Harry Parr-Davies, composer and songwriter, 41 (perforated ulcer)
• October 20 – Adolf Mišek, double bassist and composer, 80
• October 27 - Bernardo de Muro, operatic tenor, 73
• November 11 – Jerry Ross, songwriter
• November 22 – Guy Ropartz, composer and conductor, 91
• November 27 – Arthur Honegger, composer, 63
• November 30 – Josip Štolcer-Slavenski, composer
• December 5 – Lucien Durosoir, violinist and composer, 67
• December 11 – Franz Syberg, composer, 51
• December 21 - Gladys Ripley, operatic contralto, 47
• date unknown
  • Bessie Brown, blues singer
  • Vernon Isley, original Isley brother, killed in an accident aged 13