1940 in music

Encyclopedia : 1 : 19 : 194 : 1940 in music

See also: 1939 in music, other events of 1940, 1941 in music and the list of 'years in music'.

Contents

1 Events
2 Top hit records
3 Published popular music
4 Classical music
5
6
7
8 Births
9 Deaths

Events

January - Frank Sinatra joins the Tommy Dorsey orchestra
July 20 - Billboard magazine publishes its first "Music Popularity Chart"
May 27 - Quartetto Egie make their debut performance
November 23 - Dmitri Shostakovich's Piano Quintet is premiered
December 6 - Arnold Schoenberg's Violin Concerto is premiered
Thelonious Monk begins performing
Woody Guthrie's musical career begins
Quartetto Egie becomes Quartetto Ritmo after a line-up change

Top hit records

"Careless" - Glenn Miller
"Frenesi" - Artie Shaw
"I'll Never Smile Again" - Tommy Dorsey with Frank Sinatra
"In the Mood" - Glenn Miller
"Only Forever" - Bing Crosby
"Playmates" - Kay Kyser and his orchestra (vocals: Sully Mason & His Playmates)
"Playmates" - Mitchell Ayres and His Fashions In Music (vocals: Mary Ann Mercer & Tommy Taylor)
"Playmates" - Hal Kemp and The Smoothies.
"Sierra Sue" - Bing Crosby
"Trade Winds" - Bing Crosby
"Tuxedo Junction" - Glenn Miller
"When You Wish Upon a Star" - Glenn Miller
"The Woodpecker Song" - Glenn Miller

Published popular music

"Ain't It A Shame About Mame" w. Johnny Burke m. James V. Monaco
"All Over The Place" w. Frank Eyton m. Noel Gay. Introduced by Tommy Trinder in the film Sailors Three
"All This And Heaven Too" w. Eddie De Lange m. James Van Heusen
"Along The Santa Fe Trail" w. Al Dubin & Edwina Coolidge m. Will Grosz
"April Played The Fiddle" w. Johnny Burke m. James V. Monaco
"Arm In Arm" Church, Bradbury
"The Bad Humour Man" w. Johnny Mercer m. Jimmy McHugh
"Beat Me Daddy, Eight To The Bar" w.m. Don Raye, Hugie Prince & Eleanore Sheehy
"Because Of You" w. Arthur Hammerstein m. Dudley Wilkinson
"Beneath The Lights Of Home" Grossman, Jurmann
"Bewitched, Bothered And Bewildered" w. Lorenz Hart m. Richard Rodgers
"Bless 'Em All" w.m. Jimmie Hughes & Frank Lake
"Blow, Blow, Thou Winter Wind" Arthur Young, William Shakespeare, Evans
"Blueberry Hill" w.m. Al Lewis, Larry Stock & Vincent Rose
"Boog It" w.m. Jack Palmer, Cab Calloway & R. "Buck" Ram
"The Breeze And I" w. Al Stillman m. Ernesto Lecuona
"Buds Won't Bud" w. E. Y. Harburg m. Harold Arlen
"Cabin In The Sky" w. John Latouche m. Vernon Duke
"The Call Of The Canyon" w.m. Billy Hill
"Can't Get Indiana Off My Mind" w. Robert De Leon m. Hoagy Carmichael
"Celery Stalks At Midnight" m. Will Bradley & George Harris
"Concerto For Cootie" m. Duke Ellington
"Contrasts" m. Jimmy Dorsey
"Cotton Tail" m. Duke Ellington
"Den Of Iniquity" w. Lorenz Hart m. Richard Rodgers
"Devil May Care" w. Johnny Burke m. Harry Warren
"Do I Worry?" w.m. Stanley Cowan & Bobby Worth
"Do It the Hard Way" w. Lorenz Hart m. Richard Rodgers. Introduced by June Havoc, Claire Anderson and Jack Durant in the musical Pal Joey
"Dolores" w. Frank Loesser m. Louis Alter
"Down The Road Apiece" w.m. Don Raye
"Falling Leaves" w. Mack David m. Frankie Carle
"Ferry Boat Serenade" w. (Eng) Harold Adamson (Ital) Mario Panzeri m. Eldo di Lazzaro
"The Five O'Clock Whistle" w.m. Josef Myrow, Kim Gannon & Gene Irwin
"Flamingo" w. Edmund Anderson m. Ted Grouya
"Fools Rush In" w. Johnny Mercer m. Rube Bloom
"Friendship" w.m. Cole Porter
"Give a Little Whistle" w.m. Ned Washington & Leigh Harline, from the film Pinocchio
"Good For Nothin' Joe" Ted Koehler, Rube Bloom
"Harlem Nocturne" w. Dick Rogers m. Earle Hagen
"Hear My Song, Violetta" w. (Ger) Ermenegildo Carosio & Othmar Klose (Eng) Buddy Bernier & Bob Emmerich m. Rudolf Luckesch & Othmar Klose
"Hi-Diddle-Dee-Dee" w.m. Ned Washington & Leigh Harline, from the film Pinocchio
"High On A Windy Hill" w.m. Joan Whitney & Alex Kramer
"How High The Moon" w. Nancy Hamilton m. Morgan Lewis. Introduced by Alfred Drake and Frances Comstock in the revue Two for the Show.
"I Could Make You Care" w. Sammy Cahn m. Saul Chaplin. Introduced by Rosemary Lane in the film Ladies Must Live.
"I Haven't Time To Be A Millionaire" w. Johnny Burke m. James V. Monaco
"I Hear A Rhapsody" w.m. George Fragos, Jack Baker & Dick Gasparre
"I Hear Music" w. Frank Loesser m. Burton Lane
"I'm Gonna Move To The Outskirts Of Town" w.m. William Weldon & Andy Razaf
"I'm Looking For A Guy Who Plays Alto And Baritone And Doubles On A Clarinet And Wears A Size 37 Suit" w.m. Ozzie Nelson
"I'm Stepping Out With A Memory Tonight" w. Herb Magidson m. Allie Wrubel
"Imagination" w. Johnny Burke m. James Van Heusen
"Intermezzo" w. Robert Henning m. Heinz Provost
"Is You Is Or Is You Ain't My Baby?" w.m. Billy Austin & Louis Jordan
"It Never Entered My Mind" w. Lorenz Hart m. Richard Rodgers
"It Shows You What Love Can Do" w. Sammy Cahn m. Saul Chaplin. Introduced by Rosemary Lane in the film Ladies Must Live.
"It Was A Lover And His Lass" w. William Shakespeare m. Arthur Young
"It's A Great Day For The Irish" w.m. Roger Edens
"It's A Lovely Day Tomorrow" w.m. Irving Berlin
"It's Always You" w. Johnny Burke m. James Van Heusen
"It's The Same Old Shillelagh" w.m. Pat White
"I've Got No Strings" "Hi-Diddle-Dee-Dee" w.m. Ned Washington & Leigh Harline, from the film Pinocchio
"Java Jive" w. Milton Drake m. Ben Oakland
"Just A Little Bit South Of North Carolina" w.m. Sunny Skylar, Bette Cannon & Arthur Shaftel
"The Last Time I Saw Paris" w. Oscar Hammerstein II m. Jerome Kern
"Let The People Sing" w.m. Noel Gay, Ian Grant & Frank Eyton
"Let There Be Love" w. Ian Grant m. Lionel Rand
"Let's Be Buddies" w.m. Cole Porter
"Louisiana Purchase" w.m. Irving Berlin
"Make It Another Old-Fashioned, Please" w.m. Cole Porter. Introduced by Ethel Merman in the musical Panama Hattie
"Make-Believe Island" w. Charles Kenny & Nick Kenny m. Will Grosz & Sam Coslow
"Mamma" w. B. Cherubini m. C. A. Bixio
"Mister Meadowlark" w. Johnny Mercer m. Walter Donaldson
"Never No Lament" m. Duke Ellington
"New San Antonio Rose" w.m. Bob Wills
"A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square" w. Eric Maschwitz m. Manning Sherwin. Introduced in the revue New Faces by Judy Campbell.
"On Behalf Of The Visiting Firemen" w. Johnny Mercer m. Walter Donaldson
"Only Forever" w. Johnny Burke m. James V. Monaco
"Our Love Affair" w. Arthur Freed m. Roger Edens
"Outside Of That, I Love You" Irving Berlin
"The Pessimistic Character" w. Johnny Burke m. James V. Monaco
"Playmates" w.m. Saxie Dowell
"Polka Dots And Moonbeams" w. Johnny Burke m. James Van Heusen
"Pompton Turnpike" w.m. Will Osborne & Dick Rogers
"Practice Makes Perfect" w.m. Don Roberts & Ernest Gold
"Rhumboogie" w.m. Don Raye & Hughie Prince
"Room 504" Posford, Maschwitz
"Say It (Over And Over Again)" w. Frank Loesser m. Jimmy McHugh
"Scrub Me Mama With A Boogie Beat" w.m. Don Raye
"The Singing Hills" w.m. Mack David, Sammy Mysels & Dick Sanford
"Six Lessons From Madame La Zonga" w. Charles Newman m. James V. Monaco
"Summit Ridge Drive" m. Artie Shaw
"Taking A Chance On Love" w. John Latouche & Ted Fetter m. Vernon Duke
"There I Go" w. Hy Zaret m. Irving Weiser
"There's A Boy Coming Home On Leave" w.m. Jimmy Kennedy
"Trade Winds" w. Charles Tobias m. Cliff Friend
"Two Dreams Met" w. Mack Gordon m. Harry Warren
"Wabash Cannon Ball" w.m. A. P. Carter
"Walkin' Through Mockin' Bird Lane" Lowell Peters, Clarence Jones, John Turner
"Waltzing In The Clouds" w. Gus Kahn m. Robert Stolz
"We Could Make Such Beautiful Music" w. Robert Sour m. Henry Manners
"We Three" w.m. Nelson Cogane, Sammy Mysels & Dick Robertson
"Well, Did You Evah?" w.m. Cole Porter
"When The Swallows Come Back To Capistrano" w.m. Leon René
"When You Wish Upon a Star" w.m. Ned Washington & Leigh Harline, from the film Pinocchio
"Whispering Grass" w. Fred Fisher m. Doris Fisher
"The Woodpecker Song" w. (Eng) Harold Adamson (Ital) C. Bruno m. Eldo di Lazzaro
"Worried Mind" w.m. Jimmie Davis & Ted Daffan
"Yes, Indeed!" w.m. Sy Oliver
"Yes, My Darling Daughter" w.m. Jack Lawrence
"You Are My Sunshine" w.m. Jimmie Davis & Charles Mitchell
"You Stepped Out Of A Dream" w. Gus Kahn m. Nacio Herb Brown
"Zip" w. Lorenz Hart m. Richard Rodgers. In the role of reporter Melba Snyder in the Broadway production of Pal Joey, Jean Casto explained that the musings of a striptease artiste may be on a somewhat higher intellectual plane than those of her devotees.

Classical music

Granville Bantock - Celtic Symphony
Samuel Barber - Violin Concerto
Lennox Berkeley - Symphony No. 1
Benjamin Britten - Sinfonia da Requiem
Aaron Copland - Episode, Music for Our Town
Paul Creston - Symphony No. 1
David Diamond - Concerto for Small Orchestra, String Quartet No. 1
Hanns Eisler - Chamber Symphony
John Fernström - Cello Concerto
Vivian Fine - Suite in E Flat
Jakov Gotovac - Guslar, op. 22
Roy Harris - Folksong Symphony
Paul Hindemith - Cello Concerto, Symphony in E-flat
Aram Khachaturian - Violin Concerto
Gideon Klein - String Quartet op. 2
László Lajtha - Cello Concerto
Igor Markevitch - Lorenzo il Magnifico
Olivier Messiaen - Quatuor pour la fin du temps (Quartet For The End Of Time)
Darius Milhaud - String Quartet No. 10
Gosta Nystroem - Viola Concerto
Walter Piston - Suite from The Incredible Flutist
Sergei Rachmaninoff - Symphonic Dances
Roger Sessions - From my Diary
Igor Stravinsky - Symphony in C completed
William Walton - The Wise Virgins (ballet)

Manuel Camacho Vega - Tonatiuh

Apple Sauce (Music and Lyrics: Michael Carr & Jack Strachey). London production opened at the Holborn Empire Theatre on August 27 and moved to the London Palladium on March 5, 1941 when the Holburn Empire was destroyed in the blitz. Total run 462 performances.
The Beggar's Opera (Music and Lyrics: John Gay adapted by Frederic Austin). London revival opened at the Haymarket Theatre on March 5.
Cabin in the Sky (Music: Vernon Duke Lyrics: John Latouche Book: Lynn Root). Broadway production opened on October 25 at the Martin Beck Theatre and ran for 156 perofrmances
Higher and Higher (Music: Richard Rodgers Lyrics: Lorenz Hart Book: Gladys Hurlbut and Joshua Logan) opened at the Shubert Theatre on April 4 and ran for 84 performances. It returned to the same theatre on August 5 for a further 24 performances.
Hold On To Your Hats (Music: Burton Lane Lyrics: E. Y. Harburg Book: Eddie Davis, Guy Bolton and Matt Brooks). Broadway production opened at the Shubert Theatre on September 11 and ran for 158 performances
Keep Off The Grass (Music: Jimmy McHugh Lyrics: Al Dubin and Howard Dietz). Broadway revue opened at the Broadhurst Theatre on May 23 and ran for 44 performances
Louisiana Purchase (Music and Lyrics: Irving Berlin Book: Morrie Ryskind). Broadway production opened on May 28 at the Imperial Theatre and ran for 444 performances
New Faces London revue opened at the Comedy Theatre on April 11 and moved to the Apollo Theatre on March 14, 1941.
Pal Joey (Music: Richard Rogers Lyrics: Lorenz Hart Book: John O'Hara) - Broadway production opened on December 25 at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre and ran for 374 performances
Panama Hattie (Music and Lyrics: Cole Porter Book: Herbert Fields and B. G. DeSylva). Broadway production opened on October 30 at the 46th Street Theatre and ran for 501 performances
Two for the Show Broadway revue opened at the Booth Theatre on February 11 and ran for 124 performances
Walk With Music (Music: Hoagy Carmichael Lyrics: Johnny Mercer Book: Guy Bolton, Parke Levy and Alan Lipscott). Broadway production opened on June 4 at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre and ran for 55 performances
White Horse Inn (Music: Ralph Benatzky Lyrics and Book: Harry Graham). London revival opened at the London Coliseum and ran for 268 performances

The Boys From Syracuse
If I Had My Way
Irene
It All Came True starring Ann Sheridan
Little Nellie Kelly
New Moon
''A Night at Earl Carroll's released December 6
No, No, Nanette
Sailors Three starring Tommy Trinder.
Too Many Girls released October 8, starring Lucille Ball, Richard Carlson, Frances Langford, Ann Miller, Eddie Bracken and Desi Arnaz.
Two Girls on Broadway starring Lana Turner, Joan Blondell and George Murphy.

Births

January 8 - Anthony Gourdine, Little Anthony & the Imperials
January 22 - Addie "Micki" Harris, The Shirelles
January 31 - Sandy Yaguda, Jay & The Americans
February 2 - Alan Caddy, The Tornados
February 3 - Angelo D'Aleo, Dion and the Belmonts
February 10 - Roberta Flack
February 10 - Jimmy Merchant, Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers
February 11 - Bobby 'Boris' Pickett
February 19 - Smokey Robinson
February 20 - Barbara Ellis, The Fleetwoods
February 28 - Joe South
February 28 - Marty Sanders, Jay & The Americans
February 29 - Gretchen Christopher, The Fleetwoods
March 9 - John Cale
March 10 - Dean Torrence, Jan and Dean
March 11 - Mike Hugg, Manfred Mann
March 12 - Al Jarreau
March 13 - Daniel Bennie, The Reflections
March 14 - Loretta Lynn
March 15 - Phil Lesh, Grateful Dead
March 17 - Vito Picone, The Elegants
March 30 - Astrud Gilberto
April 12 - Herbie Hancock
April 13 - Lester Chambers, The Chambers Brothers
April 17 - Billy Fury
April 24 - George Tomsco, The Fireballs
April 26 - Giorgio Moroder
May 8 - Rick Nelson
May 15 - Lainie Kazan, US actress and singer
May 17 - Taj Mahal
May 19 - Mickey Newbury
June 7 - Tom Jones
June 8 - Nancy Sinatra
June 8 - Sherman Garnes, Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers
June 11 - Joey Dee
June 13 - Bobby Freeman
June 23 - Adam Faith
June 23 - Diana Trask, Australian singer
June 26 - Billy Davis Jr., The Fifth Dimension
July 7 - Ringo Starr, drummer for The Beatles
July 16 - Tony Jackson, The Searchers
July 22 - George Clinton
August 10 - Bobby Hatfield, The Righteous Brothers
August 14 - Dash Crofts, Seals and Crofts
August 19 - Johnny Nash
August 19 - Jonathan Cook, David & Jonathan
August 20 - John Lantree, The Honeycombs
September 2 - Jimmy Clanton
September 7 - Ronnie Dove
September 9 - Joe Negroni, Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers
September 11 - Bernie Dwyer, Freddie & The Dreamers
September 17 - Lamonte McLemore, The Fifth Dimension
September 18 - Frankie Avalon
September 19 - Bill Medley, The Righteous Brothers
October 8 - Fred Cash, The Impressions
October 9 - John Lennon
October 14 - Cliff Richard
October 19 - Larry Chance, The Earls
October 21 - Jimmy Beaumont, The Skyliners
October 23 - Fred Marsden, Gerry & The Pacemakers
October 23 - Ellie Greenwich, songwriter
October 26 - Keith Hopwood, Herman's Hermits
November 4 - Delbert McClinton
November 14 - Fred Garrity, Freddie & the Dreamers
November 16 - John Ryanes, The Monotones
November 21 - Dr. John
November 28 - Bruce Channel
November 29 - Chuck Mangione
December 3 - Jim Freeman, The Five Satins
December 4 - Freddy Cannon
December 4 - John Cale, The Velvet Underground
December 11 - David Gates, Bread
December 12 - Dionne Warwick
December 17 - Stephen Kovacevich, pianist
December 19 - Phil Ochs
December 21 - Frank Zappa
December 21 - Ray Hildebrand, Paul & Paula
December 23 - Tim Hardin
December 23 - Eugene Record, The Chi-Lites
December 23 - Jorma Kaukonen, Jefferson Airplane, Hot Tuna
December 26 - Phil Spector

Deaths

February 28 - Arnold Dolmetsch, musical instrument maker
April 18 - Florrie Forde, Australian-born English Music Hall singer
April 28 - Luisa Tetrazzini, soprano
June 8 - Frederick Converse, composer
July 10 - Sir Donald Francis Tovey, musicologist and composer
August 8 - Johnny Dodds, jazz musician
August 21 - Paul Juon, composer and teacher
December 5 - Jan Kubelik, violinist
date unknown - Nonna Otescu, composer

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