1940 in music

See also: 1939 in music, other events of 1940, 1941 in music and the

Table of contents

1 Events
2 Top hit records
3 Published popular songs
4 Musical theater
5 Musical films
6 Births
7 Deaths

Events

July 20 - Billboard magazine publishes its first "Music Popularity Chart"
November 23 - Dmitri Shostakovich's Piano Quintet is premiered
December 6 - Arnold Schoenberg's Violin Concerto is premiered
Thelonius Monk begins performing
Woody Guthrie's musical career begins

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
"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 songs

"Ain't It A Shame About Mame" w. Johnny Burke m. James V. Monaco
"All Over The Place" w.m. Noel Gay
"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
"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
"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
"High On A Windy Hill" w.m. Joan Whitney & Alex Kramer
"How High The Moon" w. Nancy Hamilton m. Morgan Lewis
"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 Was A Lover And His Lass" w. William Shakespeare m. Arthur Young
"It's A Big, Wide, Wonderful World" w.m. John Rox
"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" w.m. Ned Washington & Leigh Harline
"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
"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
"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 Ren�
"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

Musical theater

All In Fun
Apple Sauce London production
The Beggar's Opera London revival
Cabin In The Sky Broadway production
Higher And Higher
Hold On To Your Hats
John Henry
Keep Off The Grass
Louisiana Purchase Broadway production
Pal Joey Broadway production
Panama Hattie Broadway production
White Horse Inn London revival

Musical films

The Boys From Syracuse
If I Had My Way
Irene
Little Nellie Kelly
New Moon
No, No, Nanette

Births

January 8 - Little Anthony Gourdune, Little Anthony & The Imperials
January 22 - Addie 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 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, The Grateful Dead
March 17 - Vito Picone, The Elegants
April 12 - Herbie Hancock
April 13 - Lester Chambers, The Chambers Brothers
April 17 - Billy Fury
April 24 - George Tomsco, The Fireballs
May 8 - Rick Nelson
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 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 Croft, 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 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 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 - Freddie Cannon
December 4 - John Cale, The Velvet Underground
December 11 - David Gates, Bread
December 12 - Dionne Warwick
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