1952 in music

This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1952.

Specific locations

 * 1952 in British music
 * 1952 in Norwegian music

Specific genres

 * 1952 in country music
 * 1952 in jazz

Events

 * February 26 – Popular American singer Jo Stafford marries bandleader/arranger Paul Weston.
 * March 1 – Sun Records records its first release in Memphis, Tennessee.
 * March 7 – New Musical Express is launched as a weekly newspaper in the United Kingdom.
 * March 21 – First major rock and roll concert, Alan Freed's Moondog Coronation Ball in Cleveland, Ohio, United States.
 * May 31 – Sangeet Natak Akademi is set up by the government of India.
 * c. July – Finnish composer Aarre Merikanto wins the Olympic hymn competition.
 * August 29 – David Tudor gives the premiere of John Cage's 4′33″, during which the performer does not play, in Woodstock, New York.
 * September – Bill Haley and His Saddlemen change their image to become Bill Haley & His Comets.
 * October 7 – First edition of Bob Horn's Bandstand is broadcast as a local show from station WFIL-TV in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is later renamed American Bandstand and syndicated.
 * November 14 – The first UK Singles Chart is published by the New Musical Express, with Al Martino's "Here in My Heart" as number one.
 * date unknown
 * Jazz singer Ernesto Bonino moves from Italy to the United States.
 * Accordionist John Serry Sr. first performs in Broadway theatre with Shirley Booth in The Time of the Cuckoo.

Publications

 * Pierre Schaeffer – A la recherche d'une musique concrète (The Search for a Concrete Music), an explanation of his experimental approach to composing.
 * John Serry Sr. – The Syncopated Accordionist.

Musical groups formed

 * 76th Army Band
 * 338th Army Band (reactivated)
 * The Duke's Men of Yale (a cappella singing group)
 * Steiner Brothers, tap-dancing trio and singing group

Albums released

 * Anthology of American Folk Music – Various Artists
 * As You Desire Me – Jo Stafford
 * Billie Holiday Sings – Billie Holiday
 * Bird and Diz – Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie
 * Christmas Day in the Morning – Burl Ives
 * Christmas with Eddie Fisher – Eddie Fisher
 * Eddie Fisher Sings – Eddie Fisher
 * Favorite Spirituals – Ames Brothers
 * Harmony Encores – The Chordettes
 * Home on the Range – Ames Brothers
 * Johnnie Ray – Johnnie Ray
 * I'm in the Mood for Love – Eddie Fisher
 * Mr. Rhythm Sings – Frankie Laine
 * Oscar Peterson Plays Duke Ellington – Oscar Peterson
 * Penthouse Serenade – Nat King Cole
 * Song Favorites By Frankie Laine – Frankie Laine
 * Tennessee Waltz – Patti Page

US No. 1 hit singles
These singles reached the top of US Billboard magazine's charts in 1952.

Biggest hit singles
The following singles achieved the highest chart positions in the limited set of charts available for 1952.

Top hits on record
• "All of Me" – Johnnie Ray

• "Anytime" – Eddie Fisher

• "Auf Wiederseh'n Sweetheart" – Vera Lynn

• "Be My Life's Companion" – The Mills Brothers

• "Botch-A-Me (Ba-Ba-Baciami Piccina)" – Rosemary Clooney

• "Christmas Roses" – Frankie Laine & Jo Stafford

• "Comes A-Long A-Love" – Kay Starr

• "Day of Jubilo" – Guy Mitchell

• "Delicado" – Percy Faith & his Orchestra

• "Faith Can Move Mountains" – Nat King Cole

• "The Glow-Worm" – The Mills Brothers

• "Goin' Home" - Fats Domino

• "A Guy Is a Guy" – Doris Day

• "Half As Much" – Rosemary Clooney

• "Heart and Soul" – The Four Aces featuring Al Alberts

• "Here in My Heart" – Al Martino

• "High Noon (Do Not Forsake Me)" – Frankie Laine

• "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me" – Karen Chandler

• "How Long" - Fats Domino

• "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" – Jimmy Boyd

• "I Went To Your Wedding" – Patti Page

• "I'll Walk Alone" – Don Cornell

• "I'm Confessin'" – Les Paul and Mary Ford

• "I'm Just a Poor Bachelor" – Frankie Laine

• "I'm Yours" – Eddie Fisher

• "Kiss Of Fire" – Georgia Gibbs

• "A Kiss to Build a Dream On" – Louis Armstrong

• "Lady of Spain" – Eddie Fisher

• "Lover" – Peggy Lee

• "Maybe" – Perry Como & Eddie Fisher

• "Meet Mister Callaghan", recorded by

• *Les Paul

• *Mitch Miller

• *Carmen Cavallaro and His Orchestra

• "My Favorite Song" – Georgia Gibbs

• "My Song" – Johnny Ace

• "Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania" – Guy Mitchell

• "Please, Mr. Sun", recorded by:

• *Johnnie Ray & The Four Lads

• *Perry Como

• *Tommy Edwards

• "Poor Poor Me" - Fats Domino

• "Ramblin' Man" – Frankie Laine

• "Rock of Gibraltar" – Frankie Laine

• "Settin' the Woods on Fire" – Frankie Laine & Jo Stafford

• "A Sinner Am I" – Johnnie Ray

• "Slow Poke" – Arthur Godfrey

• "So Madly in Love" – Georgia Gibbs

• "Somewhere Along The Way" – Nat King Cole

• "Sugarbush" – Doris Day & Frankie Laine

• "Tell Me Why" – Eddie Fisher

• "Temptation" – Mario Lanza

• "Tenderly" – Rosemary Clooney

• "Tiger Rag" – Les Paul and Mary Ford

• "Till I Waltz Again With You" – Teresa Brewer

• "Tonight You Belong to Me" – Frankie Laine

• "Trying" – The Hilltoppers

• "Unforgettable" – Nat King Cole

• "Walkin' My Baby Back Home" – Johnnie Ray

• "Wheel of Fortune" – Kay Starr

• "When I Fall in Love" – Doris Day

• "When You're in Love" – Frankie Laine

• "Why Don't You Believe Me" – Joni James

• "Winter Wonderland" – Perry Como

• "Wish You Were Here" – Eddie Fisher

• "You Belong to Me" – Jo Stafford

• "You'll Never Be Mine" – Guy Mitchell

Published popular music

 * "Blue Tango"  words: Mitchell Parish, music: Leroy Anderson
 * "Comes A-Long A-Love"  w.m. Al Sherman
 * "Delicado"  w. Jack Lawrence m. Waldyr Azevedo
 * "(How Much Is) That Doggie in the Window?"  w.m. Bob Merrill
 * "Don't Laugh at Me ('Cause I'm a Fool)"  w.m. Norman Wisdom & June Tremayne
 * "Don't Let The Stars Get In Your Eyes"  w.m. Barbara Trammel, Cactus Pryor & Slim Whitman
 * "Faith Can Move Mountains"  w. Ben Raleigh m. Guy Wood
 * "Feet Up"  w.m. Bob Merrill
 * "A Fool Such As I"  w.m. Bill Trader
 * "Gonna Get Along Without Ya Now"  w.m. Milton Kellem
 * "A Guy Is A Guy"  w.m. Oscar Brand
 * "(Mama) He Treats Your Daughter Mean"  w.m. Charles Singleton & J. H. Wallace
 * "Here in My Heart"  w.m. Pat Genaro, Lou Levinson & Bill Borrelli
 * "High Noon"  w. Ned Washington m. Dimitri Tiomkin
 * "Hi-Lili, Hi-Lo"  w. Helen Deutsch m. Bronislau Kaper
 * "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me"  w.m. Harry Noble
 * "Hound Dog"  w.m. Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller
 * "I Know a Place" w. Sammy Cahn m. Vernon Duke Introduced by Doris Day & Ray Bolger in the film April in Paris
 * "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus"  w.m. Tommie Connor
 * "I Went To Your Wedding"  w.m. Jessie Mae Robinson
 * "I'll Never Get Out Of This World Alive"  w.m. Hank Williams & Fred Rose
 * "I'm Hans Christian Andersen"  w.m. Frank Loesser
 * "Inchworm"  w.m. Frank Loesser
 * "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels"  w.m. J. D. Miller
 * "It's In The Book"  w.m. Johnny Standley & Art Thorsen
 * "Jambalaya"  w.m. Hank Williams
 * "Kaw-Liga"  w.m. Hank Williams & Fred Rose
 * "Keep It A Secret"  w.m. Jessie Mae Robinson
 * "The King's New Clothes"  w.m. Frank Loesser
 * "Lawdy Miss Clawdy"  w.m. Lloyd Price
 * "Lean Baby"  w. Roy Alfred m. Billy May
 * "Lullaby of Birdland"  w. B. Y. Forster (pseudonym for George David Weiss) m. George Shearing
 * "Luna Rossa"  w. (Eng) Kermit Goell (Ital) V. de Crescenzo m. A. Vian
 * "Mister Taptoe"  w.m. Terry Gilkyson, Richard Dehr & Frank Miller
 * "Never Smile at a Crocodile"  F. Churchill, J. Lawrence
 * "Oh Happy Day"  w.m. Donald Howard Koplow & Nancy Binns Reed
 * "The Ol' Spring Fever" w. Leo Robin m. Harry Warren from the film Just For You
 * "One Mint Julep"  w.m. Rudy Toombs
 * "Outside of Heaven" w. Sammy Gallop m. Chester Conn
 * "Petite Fleur"  m. Sidney Bechet
 * "Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania"  w.m. Bob Merrill
 * "Pretend"  w.m. Lew Douglas, Cliff Parman & Frank Levere
 * "Pretty Little Black-Eyed Susie"  Kay Twomey, Fred Wise & Ben Weisman
 * "Raminay (The New Orleans Chimney Sweep)" w.m. J. Lawrence, Sammy Fain
 * "She Wears Red Feathers"  w.m. Bob Merrill
 * "Sugar Bush"  w.m. Josef Marais
 * "Take These Chains from My Heart"  w.m. Fred Rose & Hy Heath
 * "Takes Two to Tango"  w.m. Al Hoffman & Dick Manning
 * "That's All"  w. Alan Brandt m. Bob Haymes
 * "That's Entertainment!"  w. Howard Dietz m. Arthur Schwartz
 * "Till I Waltz Again With You"  w.m. Sidney Prosen
 * "The Ugly Duckling"  w.m. Frank Loesser
 * "To Know You (Is to Love You)"  w. Allan Roberts m. Robert Allen
 * "Walkin' To Missouri"  w.m. Bob Merrill
 * "Wheel Of Fortune"  w.m. Bennie Benjamin & George David Weiss
 * "When I Fall in Love"  w. Edward Heyman m. Victor Young
 * "Why Don't You Believe Me?"  w.m. Lew Douglas, King Laney & Roy Rodde
 * "Wish You Were Here"  w.m. Harold Rome
 * "You Belong to Me"  w.m. Pee Wee King, Redd Stewart & Chilton Price
 * "Your Cheatin' Heart"  w.m. Hank Williams
 * "Zing A Little Zong"  w. Leo Robin m. Harry Warren

Top R&B and country hits on record

 * "5-10-15 Hours" – Ruth Brown
 * "Daddy Daddy" – Ruth Brown
 * "Hound Dog" – Big Mama Thornton
 * "Jambalaya (On the Bayou)" – Hank Williams
 * "Juke" – Little Walter
 * "Lawdy Miss Clawdy" – Lloyd Price
 * "Midnight Special" – The Weavers
 * "Night Train" – Jimmy Forrest
 * "Wimoweh" – The Weavers
 * "Worry, Worry, Worry" – Joe Houston
 * "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels" – Kitty Wells

Premieres

 * 1 The ensemble Bruno Maderna conducted comprised both faculty and students of the Ferienkurse and members of the Landestheater Orchestra Darmstadt.
 * 2 Only the first half of Spiel was performed at Donaueschingen in 1952. The complete score was only first performed in a radio recording made in July 1973 with the SWR Symphony Orchestra, Baden-Baden, conducted by the composer. The first public performance of the complete composition was given by the Berlin Philharmonic on 14 September 1975, also under the composer's baton.

Compositions

 * Jean Barraqué
 * Piano Sonata
 * Benjamin Britten – Canticle II: Abraham and Isaac, Op. 51
 * John Cage
 * 4′33″
 * Carlos Chávez
 * Sinfonía romántica (Symphony No. 4)
 * George Crumb
 * String Trio
 * Three Pastoral Pieces
 * Luigi Dallapiccola
 * Quaderno musicale di Annalibera, solo piano
 * Alberto Ginastera
 * Piano Sonata No. 1
 * Carlos Guastavino
 * Suite argentina, ballet
 * Dmitry Kabalevsky
 * Piano Concerto No. 3
 * Wojciech Kilar
 * Conjured for baritone and seven instruments
 * Quintet for woodwind instruments
 * Suite No. 2 for piano
 * Sonata No. 1 for piano
 * Erich Wolfgang Korngold
 * Symphony
 * Otto Luening
 * Fantasy in Space for flute and tape
 * Invention in Twelve Notes for flute and tape
 * Low Speed for flute and tape
 * Frank Martin
 * Harpsichord Concerto
 * Bohuslav Martinů
 * Rhapsody-Concerto for Viola and Orchestra
 * Olivier Messiaen
 * Le Merle noir
 * Wilhelm Peterson-Berger
 * Canzone for Violin and Piano
 * Prokofiev, Sergei
 * Symphony No. 7
 * Joaquín Rodrigo
 * Concierto Serenata for Harp and Orchestra
 * Edmund Rubbra
 * Viola Concerto
 * Dmitri Shostakovich
 * String Quartet No. 5
 * Karlheinz Stockhausen
 * Klavierstücke I–IV
 * Punkte [withdrawn, revised in 1962]
 * Schlagquartett
 * Spiel
 * Igor Stravinsky
 * Cantata
 * Vaughan Williams, Ralph
 * Sinfonia antartica (Symphony No. 7)
 * Heitor Villa-Lobos
 * Piano Concerto No. 4
 * Symphony No. 9

Opera

 * Franco Alfano – Sakùntala (revision of his 1921 opera La leggenda di Sakùntala)
 * Leonard Bernstein – Trouble in Tahiti
 * Raymond Chevreuille – Atta Troll
 * Mozart Camargo Guarnieri – Pedro Malazarte (comic opera in one act, libretto by Mario de Andrade, premiered in May at the Theatro Municipal in Rio de Janeiro)

Film

 * Georges Auric - Moulin Rouge
 * Charlie Chaplin - Limelight
 * Bernard Herrmann - The Snows of Kilimanjaro
 * Alfred Newman - The Prizoner of Zenda
 * Alex North - Viva Zapata!
 * Miklós Rózsa - Ivanhoe
 * Dimitri Tiomkin - High Noon
 * Victor Young - The Quiet Man

Musical theatre

 * Bet Your Life London production opened at the Hippodrome on February 18 and ran for 362 performances
 * Curtain Going Up Broadway production
 * The Globe Revue London revue opened on July 10 at the Globe Theatre
 * Love from Judy London production opened at the Saville Theatre on September 25 and ran for 594 performances
 * New Faces of 1952 Broadway production
 * Pal Joey (Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart) – Broadway revival of original 1940 production
 * Ring Out the Bells London revue opened at the Victoria Palace Theatre on November 12
 * Three Wishes for Jamie Broadway production opened at the Mark Hellinger Theatre on March 21 and moved to the Plymouth Theatre on May 27 for a total run of 92 performances
 * Two's Company Broadway production
 * Wish You Were Here Broadway production

Musical films

 * Aaron Slick from Punkin Crick starring Alan Young, Dinah Shore, Robert Merrill and Adele Jergens. Directed by Claude Binyon.
 * Affair in Trinidad starring Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford
 * April in Paris starring Doris Day and Ray Bolger
 * Because You're Mine starring Mario Lanza and Doretta Morrow
 * Bloodhounds of Broadway starring Mitzi Gaynor, Scott Brady and Mitzi Green
 * Everything I Have Is Yours starring Marge Champion, Gower Champion and Monica Lewis
 * Hans Christian Andersen starring Danny Kaye and Jane Wyman
 * Just for You starring Bing Crosby and Jane Wyman
 * The Las Vegas Story starring Jane Russell, Victor Mature and Hoagy Carmichael
 * Lovely to Look At starring Kathryn Grayson, Red Skelton, Howard Keel, Marge Champion, Gower Champion and Ann Miller
 * Meet Danny Wilson starring Frank Sinatra and Shelley Winters
 * The Merry Widow starring Lana Turner, Fernando Lamas and Una Merkel
 * Road to Bali starring Bing Crosby, Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour
 * She's Working Her Way Through College starring Virginia Mayo and Ronald Reagan
 * Sing Along with Me starring Donald Peers, Dodo Watts & Dennis Vance directed by Peter Graham Scott
 * Singin' in the Rain starring Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor and Debbie Reynolds
 * Skirts Ahoy! starring Esther Williams, Joan Evans, Vivian Blaine and Keefe Brasselle, and featuring Billy Eckstine, The DeMarco Sisters, Debbie Reynolds and Bobby Van.
 * Son of Paleface starring Bob Hope, Jane Russell, Roy Rogers and Trigger
 * Where's Charley? starring Ray Bolger and Allyn Ann McLerie
 * With a Song in My Heart starring Susan Hayward and Rory Calhoun

Births

 * January 2 – Graeme Strachan, Australian singer-songwriter (died 2001)
 * January 10 – Scott Thurston, American guitarist and songwriter
 * January 15
 * Skay Beilinson, Argentinian guitar player
 * Boris Blank, Swiss musician
 * Melvyn Gale, cellist (Electric Light Orchestra)
 * January 17 – Ryuichi Sakamoto, Japanese electronic musician and composer (died 2023)
 * January 20 – Paul Stanley, rock guitarist and singer (Kiss)
 * January 21 – Cyril and Libbye Hellier, American operatic sopranos
 * January 22 – Teddy Gentry, country bass player (Alabama)
 * January 25 – Timothy White, American rock journalist (died 2002)
 * January 29 – Tommy Ramone, punk rock drummer, producer (The Ramones)
 * January 30 – Steve Bartek, new wave rock guitarist (Oingo Boingo)
 * February 1 – Jenő Jandó, Hungarian pianist
 * February 4 – Jerry Shirley, rock drummer (Humble Pie)
 * February 12 – Michael McDonald, rock singer-songwriter (The Doobie Brothers)
 * February 13 – Ed Gagliardi, rock bass guitarist (Foreigner)
 * February 16 – James Ingram, American R&B singer-songwriter and producer (died 2019)
 * February 18 – Juice Newton, pop and country singer-songwriter and guitarist
 * February 20
 * Halvor Haug, Norwegian composer
 * Matti Rantanen, Finnish accordionist
 * February 21 – Jean-Jacques Burnel, rock bass guitarist and vocalist (The Stranglers)
 * February 23 – Brad Whitford, hard rock rhythm guitarist (Aerosmith)
 * March 11 – Vince Giordano, bass saxophonist and band leader for the Nighthawks Orchestra
 * March 13 – Wolfgang Rihm, composer
 * March 15 – Howard Devoto, punk rock singer-songwriter (Buzzcocks, Magazine, Luxuria, ShelleyDevoto)
 * March 22 – Jay Dee Daugherty, rock drummer and songwriter (Patti Smith Group)
 * April 2 – Leon Wilkeson, American bassist (Lynyrd Skynyrd)
 * April 4 – Gary Moore, Northern Irish blues guitarist and singer (died 2011)
 * April 13 – Rosa Passos, Brazilian Bossa Nova singer
 * April 17 – Jerry Knight, American vocalist, bassist, songwriter and producer (died 1996)
 * April 23 – Narada Michael Walden, American drummer, singer, composer and record producer (Mahavishnu Orchestra)
 * April 26 – Ewa Podleś, Polish opera singer (died 2024)
 * May 11 – Renaud, composer
 * May 14 – David Byrne, singer-songwriter (Talking Heads)
 * May 18 – George Strait, country singer, actor and music producer
 * May 19 – Barbara Joyce Lomas, funk/disco singer (B. T. Express)
 * May 23 – Dillie Keane, cabaret performer
 * May 30 – Zoltán Kocsis, composer and pianist (died 2016)
 * June 5 – Nicko McBrain, heavy metal drummer (Iron Maiden, Trust, etc.)
 * June or July 6 – Jamie Spears, father of singer-songwriters and actresses Jamie Lynne Spears and Britney Spears (estranged)
 * June 7 – Royce Campbell, American guitarist, composer and producer
 * June 11 – Donnie Van Zant rock guitarist and vocalist (38 Special)
 * June 12
 * Junior Brown, country guitarist and singer
 * Oliver Knussen, composer (died 2018)
 * June 16 – Gino Vannelli, Canadian singer-songwriter, musician and composer
 * June 19 – Jim Johnston, American composer and musician
 * June 25 – Tim Finn, New Zealand singer-songwriter
 * July 1
 * Dan Aykroyd, actor (The Blues Brothers)
 * Leon "Ndugu" Chancler, drummer, composer and record producer (died 2018)
 * Timothy J. Tobias, American pianist and composer (died 2006)
 * July 2 – Johnny Colla (Huey Lewis and the News)
 * July 3 – Laura Branigan, American singer (Gloria) and actress (died 2004)
 * July 4 - John Waite, English musician
 * July 12 – Philip Taylor Kramer, American bass player (Iron Butterfly) (died 1995)
 * July 14 – Bob Casale, American guitarist, keyboard player and producer (Devo) (died 2014)
 * July 15 – David Pack, frontman, vocalist and guitarist with rock group Ambrosia
 * July 16 – Stewart Copeland, drummer (The Police)
 * July 17
 * Nicolette Larson, singer (died 1997)
 * Phoebe Snow, singer-songwriter (died 2011)
 * July 19 – Allen Collins, American guitarist and songwriter (Lynyrd Skynyrd, Rossington Collins Band and Allen Collins Band) (died 1990)
 * July 22
 * John Rutsey, Canadian drummer (Rush) (died 2008)
 * Janis Siegel, American singer (The Manhattan Transfer)
 * July 28 – Glenn A. Baker, Australian music journalist
 * July 31 – Reinhard Goebel, German early music conductor and violinist
 * August 4 – Moya Brennan, Irish folk harpist and singer (Clannad)
 * August 6 – Pat MacDonald, American new wave musician (Timbuk 3)
 * August 16 – Gianna Rolandi, American soprano (died 2021)
 * August 20 – John Hiatt, guitarist, pianist and singer
 * August 21 – Joe Strummer, singer-songwriter (The Clash) (died 2002)
 * August 26 – Billy Rush, guitarist (Asbury Jukes)
 * August 27 – Laurie Wisefield, English guitarist and vocalist (Wishbone Ash)
 * September 4 – Martin Chambers, The Pretenders
 * September 9 – Dave Stewart, English musician, songwriter and record producer (Eurythmics)
 * September 12
 * Gerry Beckley, rock singer-songwriter (America)
 * Neil Peart, rock drummer & songwriter (Rush) (died 2020)
 * September 13 – Randy Jones, singer (Village People)
 * September 18 – Dee Dee Ramone, bassist (The Ramones) (died 2002)
 * September 19 – Nile Rodgers, American record producer, songwriter, musician, composer, arranger and guitarist (The Honeydrippers, Chic)
 * September 22 – Oliver Mtukudzi ("Tuku"), Zimbabwean Afro jazz singer-guitarist (died 2019)
 * September 30 – John Lombardo, American musician (10,000 Maniacs, John & Mary)
 * October 21 – Miroslav Žbirka, Slovak singer-songwriter
 * November 2
 * Maxine Nightingale, singer
 * Alan Winstanley, producer
 * November 11 – Paul Cowsill (The Cowsills)
 * November 14 – Johnny A., guitarist and songwriter
 * November 17 – Runa Laila, Bangladeshi playback singer and composer
 * November 18 - John Parr, English musician and singer-songwriter
 * November 20 – Semyon Bychkov, conductor
 * November 27 – Bappi Lahiri, Indian film composer
 * December 3 – Don Barnes (38 Special)
 * December 23 – Hans Abrahamsen, Danish composer
 * December 27 – David Knopfler (Dire Straits)

Deaths

 * January 9 – Midge Williams, singer
 * January 14 – Artur Kapp, Estonian composer (d. 1878)
 * January 16 – René Voisin, trumpeter
 * January 20 – Arthur Farwell, composer and conductor
 * February 13 – Alfred Einstein, musicologist
 * March 17 – Percy Wenrich, ragtime composer
 * March 22 – Uncle Dave Macon, musician
 * April 19 – Steve Conway, British singer (born 1920)
 * April 23 – Elisabeth Schumann, operatic soprano
 * May 23 – Georg Schumann, German composer (born 1866)
 * May 15 – Italo Montemezzi, composer
 * June 9 – Adolf Busch, violinist and composer
 * June 13 – Emma Eames, operatic soprano
 * June 14 – John Kirby, jazz musician
 * June 25 – Luke Jordan, blues musician
 * July 2 – Henriëtte Hilda Bosmans, Dutch composer and pianist (born 1895)
 * July 10 – Rued Langgaard, Danish composer and organist (born 1893)
 * September 6 – Gertrude Lawrence, English actress, singer, dancer
 * September 16 – Vesta Tilley, music hall entertainer
 * September 18 – Frances Alda, operatic soprano
 * September 19 – Nat Ayer, composer
 * October 25 – Sergei Bortkiewicz, pianist and composer
 * October 26 – Hattie McDaniel
 * November 1 – Dixie Lee, singer, dancer and actress, wife of Bing Crosby
 * November 4 – Max Adler, violinist
 * November 17 – Charles Penrose, music hall performer
 * December 25 – Bernardino Molinari, arranger and conductor (born 1880)
 * December 26 – Paul Breisach, conductor
 * December 28 – Fletcher Henderson, jazz musician
 * December 30
 * Willie Brown, blues musician
 * Nakayama Shimpei, songwriter
 * date unknown
 * Tryphosa Bates-Batcheller, singer
 * Georgette Harvey, actress and singer