1929 in music

Events

*May 3 - Francis Poulenc's "Concert champêtre" for harpsichord and orchestra is premiered in Paris
*May 17 - Sergei Prokofiev's "Symphony No. 3" is premiered in Paris
*December 31 - Guy Lombardo plays "Auld Lang Syne" for the first time
*Charley Patton's musical career begins
*T-Bone Walker's recording career begins
*Memphis Minnie's recording career begins
*Amédé Ardoin makes the first recordings of zydeco in Louisiana.
*Manuel de Falla relocates to Granada.

Top blues records

*"That Crawling Baby Blues" - Blind Lemon Jefferson
*"Travelin' Blues" - Blind Willie McTell
*"Christmas In Jail" - Leroy Carr
*"Hot Fingers" - Lonnie Johnson
*"High Water Everywhere" - Charley Patton

Published popular music

* "Ain't Misbehavin'" w. Andy Razaf m. Thomas "Fats" Waller & Harry Brooks
* "Am I Blue?" w. Grant Clarke m. Harry Akst
* "Any Old Time" w.m. Jimmie Rodgers
* "Around The Corner" w. Gus Kahn m. Art Kassel
* "The Banjo (That Man Joe Plays)" w.m. Cole Porter
* "Barnacle Bill The Sailor" w.m. Carson Robison & Frank Luther
* "Big City Blues" w. Sidney D. Mitchell m. Archie Gottler & Con Conrad
* "Bilbao Song" w. (Eng) Johnny Mercer w. (Ger) Bertolt Brecht m. Kurt Weill English lyrics 1961
* "Black And Blue" w. Andy Razaf m. Thomas "Fats" Waller
* "Bolero" m. Maurice Ravel
* "Broadway Melody" w. Arthur Freed m. Nacio Herb Brown
* "Can Broadway Do Without Me?" w.m. Jimmy Durante
* "Can't We Be Friends?" w. Paul James m. Kay Swift
* "Chant Of The Jungle" w. Arthur Freed m. Nacio Herb Brown
* "Corrine, Corrina" w. J. Mayo Williams & Bo Chatman
* "Cross Your Fingers" w. Arthur Swanstrom & Benny Davis m. J. Fred Coots
* "Cryin' For The Carolines" w. Sam M. Lewis & Joe Young m. Harry Warren
* "Daddy Won't You Please Come Home?" w.m. Sam Coslow
* "Dear Little Cafe" w.m. Noel Coward
* "Deep Night" w. Rudy Vallee m. Charlie Henderson
* "Do Something" w. Bud Green m. Sam H. Stept
* "Do What You Do" w. Ira Gershwin & Gus Kahn m. George Gershwin
* "Don't Ever Leave Me" w. Oscar Hammerstein II m. Jerome Kern
* "Dream Lover" w. Clifford Grey m. Victor Schertzinger
* "Every Little Moment" w.m. Vivian Ellis
* "Feeling Sentimental" w. Ira Gershwin m. George Gershwin
* "Find Me A Primitive Man" w.m. Cole Porter
* "Funny, Dear, What Love Can Do" w.m. Charles Straight, Joe Bennett & George Little
* "Gee Baby, Ain't I Good To You?" w. Andy Razaf & Don Redman m. Don Redman
* "Great Day!" w. Billy Rose & Edward Eliscu m. Vincent Youmans
* "Happy Days Are Here Again" w. Jack Yellen m. Milton Ager
* "Have A Little Faith In Me" w. Sam M. Lewis & Joe Young m. Harry Warren
* "Here Am I" w. Oscar Hammerstein II m. Jerome Kern
* "He's A Good Man To Have Around" w. Jack Yellen m. Milton Ager
* "He's So Unusual" w.m. Al Sherman, Al Lewis and Abner Silver
* "High And Low" w. Howard Dietz m. Arthur Schwartz
* "Honeysuckle Rose" w. Andy Razaf m. Thomas "Fats" Waller
* "How Am I To Know?" w. Dorothy Parker m. Jack King
* "I Got A Code In My Dose" w.m. Arthur Fields, Fred Hall & Billy Rose
* "I Guess I'll Have To Change My Plan" w. Howard Dietz m. Arthur Schwartz. Introduced by Clifton Webb in the revue "The Little Show"
* "I Have To Have You" Leo Robin, Richard A. Whiting
* "I Lift Up My Finger" w.m. Leslie Sarony
* "I May Be Wrong" w. Harry Ruskin m. Henry Sullivan
* "If I Can't Have You" w. Al Bryan m. George W. Meyer
* "If I Had A Talking Picture Of You" w. B. G. De Sylva & Lew Brown m. Ray Henderson
* "If Love Were All" w.m. Noel Coward
* "I'll See You Again" w.m. Noel Coward
* "I'm A Dreamer, Aren't We All?" w. B. G. De Sylva & Lew Brown m. Ray Henderson
* "I'm A Gigolo" w.m. Cole Porter
* "I'm In Seventh Heaven" w.m. Al Jolson, B. G. De Sylva, Lew Brown & Ray Henderson
* "I'm Just A Vagabond Lover" w.m. Rudy Vallee & Leon Zimmerman
* "I've Got A Feeling I'm Falling" w. Billy Rose m. Fats Waller & Harry Link
* "Kansas City Kitty" w. Edgar Leslie m. Walter Donaldson
* "Keepin' Myself For You" w. Sidney Clare m. Vincent Youmans.
* "Let Me Sing And I'm Happy" w.m. Irving Berlin
* "Little By Little" w.m. Walter O'Keefe & Robert Emmet Dolan. Introduced by Sally O'Neil and Eddie Quillan in the film "The Sophomore"
* "The Little Things You Do" w. Lorenz Hart m. Richard Rodgers
* "Liza" w. Gus Kahn & Ira Gershwin m. George Gershwin. Intrpoduced by Nick Lucas in the musical "Show Girl"
* "Looking At You" w.m. Cole Porter. Introduced by Jessie Matthews and Dave Fitzgibbon in the musical "Wake Up and Dream"
* "Louise" w. Leo Robin m. Richard A. Whiting. Introduced by Maurice Chevalier in the film "Innocents of Paris"
* "Lovable And Sweet" w. Sidney Clare m. Oscar Levant. Introduced by Jack Oakie, John Harron and Ned Sparks in the film "Street Girl"
* "Love, Your Magic Spell Is Everywhere" w. Elsie Janis m. Edmund Goulding
* "March Of The Grenadiers" w. Clifford Grey m. Victor Schertzinger Introduced by Jeanette MacDonald in the film "The Love Parade
* "Maybe Who Knows" John Tucker, Joe Schuster, Ruth Etting
* "Mean To Me" w. Roy Turk m. Fred E. Ahlert
* "The Minor Drag" m. Thomas "Fats" Waller
* "Miss Hannah" w.m. Don Redman & John Nesbitt
* "Miss You" w.m. Harry Tobias, Charles Tobias & Henry Tobias
* "Moanin' Low" w. Howard Dietz m. Ralph Rainger. Introduced by Libby Holman in the revue "The Little Show"
* "More Than You Know" w. Edward Eliscu & Billy Rose m. Vincent Youmans. Introduced by Mayo Methot in the musical "Great Day"
* "My Ideal" w. Leo Robin m. Richard A. Whiting & Newell Chase. Introduced by Maurice Chevalier in the film "Playboy of Paris"
* "My Kinda Love" w. Jo Trent m. Louis Alter
* "My Love Parade" w. Clifford Grey m. Victor Schertzinger
* "My Mother's Eyes" w. L. Wolfe Gilbert m. Abel Baer
* "My Sin" w. B. G. De Sylva & Lew Brown m. Ray Henderson
* "Nobody's Using It Now" Clifford Grey, Victor Schertzinger
* "On The Amazon" w. Clifford Grey & Greatrex Newman m. Vivian Ellis
* "Orange Blossom Time" w. Joe Goodwin m. Gus Edwards
* "Pagan Love Song" w. Arthur Freed m. Nacio Herb Brown
* "Painting the Clouds With Sunshine" w. Al Dubin m. Joe Burke
* "Paris, Stay the Same" w. Clifford Grey m. Victor Schertzinger
* "Piccolo Pete" w.m. Phil Baxter
* "Puttin' on the Ritz" w.m. Irving Berlin
* "Raisin' the Roof" w. Dorothy Fields m. Jimmy McHugh
* "Reaching For Someone" w. Edgar Leslie m. Walter Donaldson
* "Rockin' Chair" w.m. Hoagy Carmichael
* "Romance" w. Edgar Leslie m. Walter Donaldson
* "Satisfied!" w. Irving Caesar m. Cliff Friend
* "Serenade of Love" by Irving Caesar
* "Seventh Heaven" w. Sidney D. Mitchell m. Lew Pollack
* "She's Such A Comfort To Me" w. Douglas Furber, Max Lief, Nathaniel Lief & Donovan Parsons m. Arthur Schwartz
* "She's Wonderful" w. Gus Kahn m. Walter Donaldson
* "A Ship Without A Sail" w. Lorenz Hart m. Richard Rodgers
* "Should I?" w. Arthur Freed m. Nacio Herb Brown
* "Canto Siboney" w. Dolly Morse m. Ernesto Lecuona
* "Singin' in the Bathtub" w. Herb Magidson & Ned Washington m. Michael H. Cleary
* "Singin' in the Rain" w. Arthur Freed m. Nacio Herb Brown
* "So The Bluebirds And The Blackbirds Got Together" w. Billy Moll m. Harry Barris
* "S'posin"' w. Andy Razaf m. Paul Denniker
* "Spread A Little Happiness" w.m. Vivian Ellis, Richard Myers & Greatrex Newman
* "Star Dust" w. Mitchell Parish m. Hoagy Carmichael Music 1927.
* "Sunny Side Up" w. B. G. De Sylva & Lew Brown m. Ray Henderson
* "Thank Your Father" w. B. G. De Sylva & Lew Brown m. Ray Henderson
* "Then You've Never Been Blue" w. Sam M. Lewis & Joe Young m. Ted Fiorito
* "Thinking Of You" w. Bert Kalmar m. Harry Ruby
* "True Blue Lou" w.m. Sam Coslow, Leo Robin & Richard A. Whiting
* "Turn on the Heat" w. B. G. DeSylva & Lew Brown m. Ray Henderson. Introduced by Sharon Lynn and Frank Richardson in the film "Sunny Side Up".
* "Wait 'Til You See Ma Cherie" w. Leo Robin m. Richard A. Whiting
* "Waiting At The End Of The Road" w.m. Irving Berlin
* "Wake Up And Dream" w.m. Cole Porter
* "Walk Right In" Cannon, Woods, Darling, Suanoe
* "Wedding Bells Are Breaking Up That Old Gang Of Mine" w. Irving Kahal & Willie Raskin m. Sammy Fain
* "The Wedding Of The Painted Doll" w. Arthur Freed m. Nacio Herb Brown
* "What Is This Thing Called Love?" w.m. Cole Porter
* "What Wouldn't I Do For That Man?" w. E. Y. Harburg m. Jay Gorney
* "When It's Springtime In The Rockies" w. Mary Hale Woolsey & Milton Taggert m. Robert Sauer
* "Why Can't I?" w. Lorenz Hart m. Richard Rodgers
* "Why Do You Suppose?" w. Lorenz Hart m. Richard Rodgers
* "Why Was I Born?" w. Oscar Hammerstein II m. Jerome Kern
* "With A Song in My Heart" w. Lorenz Hart m. Richard Rodgers
* "Without A Song" w. Edward Eliscu & Billy Rose m. Vincent Youmans
* "You Do Something To Me" w.m. Cole Porter. Introduced by William Gaxton in the musical "Fifty Million Frenchmen"
* "You Were Meant For Me" w. Arthur Freed m. Nacio Herb Brown
* "Yours Sincerely" w. Lorenz Hart m. Richard Rodgers
* "You've Got That Thing" w.m. Cole Porter
* "Zigeuner" w.m. Noël Coward

Classical music

*Samuel Barber - "Serenade" [for quartet or string orchestra]
*Béla Bartók - Piano Concerto No. 1
*Arnold Bax - Symphony No. 3
*Henry Cowell - "Piano Concerto"
*Pierre-Octave Ferroud - Violin Sonata
*Paul Juon - "Litaniae" for Piano, Violin and Cello in C sharp minor
*Wilhelm Kempff - Symphony No. 2
*Ildebrando Pizzetti - "Rondo Veneziano"
*Dmitri Shostakovich - Symphony No. 3 E flat major, Op. 20
*William Walton - Viola Concerto

Opera

*Hans Chemin-Petit
**"Der gefangene Vogel"
**"Lady Monika"

Musical theater

* "Bitter Sweet" (Noel Coward)
**London production opened at His Majesty's Theatre on July 12 and ran for 673 performances
**Broadway production opened at the Ziegfeld Theatre on November 5 and transferred to the Shubert Theatre on February 17, 1930 for a total run of 159 performances
*"Boom Boom" Broadway production opened at the Casino Theatre on January 28 and ran for 72 performances
* "Dear Love" opened at the Palace Theatre on November 14 and ran for 132 performances
* "Die Dreigroschenoper" Vienna production
* "Fifty Million Frenchmen" Broadway production opened at the Lyric Theatre on November 27 and ran for 254 performances
* "Follow Thru" Broadway production opened at the 46th Street Theatre on January 9 and ran for 401 performances
* "Follow Through" London production opened at the Dominion Theatre on October 3 and ran for 148 performances
* "Hold Everything" London production opened at the Palace Theatre on June 12 and ran for 173 performances
* "Hot Chocolates" Broadway revue opened at the Hudson Theatre on June 20 and ran for 219 performances
* "The House That Jack Built" London revue opened at the Adelphi Theatre on November 8 and ran for 270 performances
* "Das Land Des Lächelns" (Franz Lehár) - Berlin production opened at the Metropol Theater on October 10
* "The Little Show" Broadway revue opened at the Music Box Theatre on April 30 and ran for 321 performances
* "Love Lies" London production opened at the Gaiety Theatre on March 20 and ran for 347 performances
* "Mr. Cinders" London production opened at the Adelphi Theatre on February 11 and ran for 528 performances
* "Show Boat" (Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II) - Paris production
* "Spring Is Here" (Music: Richard Rodgers Lyrics: Lorenz Hart Book: Owen Davis) Broadway production opened at the Alvin Theatre on March 11 and ran for 104 performances
* "Toad of Toad Hall" London production opened at the Lyric Theatre on December 17
* "Top Speed" Broadway production opened at Chanin's 46th Street Theatre on December 25 and transferred to the Royale Theatre on March 10, 1930 for a total run of 104 performances
* "Wake Up and Dream" (Music and Lyrics: Cole Porter)
**London revue opened at the Pavilion on March 27 and ran for 263 performances
**Broadway revue opened at the Selwyn Theatre on December 30 and ran for 136 performances

Musical films

* "Applause" starring Helen Morgan. Directed by Rouben Mamoulian.
* "The Battle of Paris" starring Gertrude Lawrence, Charles Ruggles, Walter Petrie, Gladys DuBois and Arthur Treacher. Directed by Robert Flory.
* "Broadway" starring Glenn Tryon, Merna Kennedy, Evelyn Brent and Otis Harlan. Directed by Paul Fejos.
* "The Broadway Melody"
* "The Cocoanuts"
* "The Desert Song" starring John Boles, Carlotta King, Louise Fazenda and Myrna Loy. Directed by Roy Del Ruth.
* "Glad Rag Doll"
* "Glorifying the American Girl" starring Mary Eaton and Dan Healy and featuring Eddie Cantor, Helen Morgan and Rudy Vallee.
* "Gold Diggers of Broadway"
* "Happy Days" starring Charles E. Evans and Marjorie White and featuring Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell
* "Hollywood Revue Of 1929"
* "Honky Tonk" starring Sophie Tucker
* "The Love Parade" starring Maurice Chevalier, Jeanette MacDonald, Lupino Lane and Lillian Roth
* "Marianne" starring Marion Davies, Lawrence Gray and Cliff Edwards
* "On with the Show!" starring Arthur Lake, Betty Compson and Joe E. Brown, and featuring Ethel Waters
* "Paris" released November 7 starring Irène Bordoni, Jack Buchanan and Zasu Pitts.
* "Rio Rita" starring Bebe Daniels and John Boles
* "Sally" starring Marilyn Miller, Alexander Gray and Joe E. Brown
* "Show Boat"
* "So Long Letty" starring Charlotte Greenwood
* "Song of Love" starring Belle Baker, Ralph Graves and Eunice Quedens
* "Sunny Side Up" starring Janet Gaynor, Charles Farrell and Marjorie White
* "Tanned Legs" starring Ann Pennington, June Clyde, Arthur Lake, Dorothy Revier and Sally Blane. Directed by Marshall Neilan.
* "The Vagabond Lover" starring Rudy Vallee, Sally Blane and Marie Dressler. Directed by Marshall Neilan.
* "Why Leave Home?" starring Sue Carol, Nick Stuart, Dixie Lee and Ilka Chase. Directed by Raymond Cannon.
* "Words and Music" starring Lois Moran, Helen Twelvetrees and Tom Patricola. Directed by James Tinling.

Recorded popular music

*"Am I Blue?" by Ethel Waters
*"Button Up Your Overcoat" by Helen Kane
*"Heigh-Ho, Everybody, Heigh-Ho" by Rudy Vallee
*"He's So Unusual" by Helen Kane
*"I Want To Be Bad" by Annette Hanshaw
*"I'll Get By, As Long As I Have You" by Aileen Stanley
*"I'm The Medicine Man For The Blues" by Ted Lewis & His Jazz Band
*"If I Had A Talking Picture of You" by Johnny Hamp's Kentucky Serenaders
*"Louise" by Maurice Chevalier
*"Louise/So The Bluebirds And The Blackbirds Got Together" by Paul Whiteman's Rhythm Boys, featuring Bing Crosby
*"Makin' Whoopie" by Eddie Cantor
*"Maybe, Who Knows?" by Kate Smith
*"Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out" by Bessie Smith
*"Piccolo Pete" by Ted Weems & His Orchestra
*"Singin' in the Rain" by Cliff Edwards
*"Stardust" by Isham Jones & His Orchestra
*"What Did I Do To Be So Black and Blue?" by Louis Armstrong & His Orchestra
*"You'll Do It Someday, So Why Not Now?" by Rudy Vallee

Births

*January 3 - Ernst Mahle, Brazilian composer and conductor
*January 6 - Wilbert Harrison, singer (d. 1994)
*January 28 - Mr Acker Bilk, jazz musician
*February 10 - Jerry Goldsmith, composer for film and television (d. 2004)
*March 4 - Bernard Haitink, violinist and conductor
*April 1 - Jane Powell, singer and actress
*April 5 - Joe Meek, UK record producer (d. 1967)
*April 6 - André Previn, pianist and conductor
*April 8 - Jacques Brel, Belgian singer-songwriter (d. 1978)
*April 29 - Peter Sculthorpe, composer
*May 1 - Sonny James, country singer and songwriter
*May 3 - Denise Lor, singer
*May 16 - Betty Carter, jazz singer (d. 1998)
*May 25 - Beverly Sills, operatic soprano (d. 2007)
*June 9 - Johnny Ace, R&B singer (d. 1954)
*June 23 - June Carter Cash, singer and songwriter, wife of Johnny Cash (d. 2003)
*July 3 - Pedro Iturralde, composer
*July 9 - Lee Hazlewood, singer, songwriter and record producer (d. 2007)
*July 18 - Screamin' Jay Hawkins, singer (d. 2000)
*August 12 - Buck Owens, singer and guitarist (d. 2006)
*August 16 - Bill Evans, jazz pianist (d. 1980)
*August 24 - William Winfield (The Harptones)
*September 13 - Nicolai Ghiaurov, operatic bass (d. 2004)
*October 2 - Kenneth Leighton, composer (d. 1998)
*October 12 - Nappy Brown, blues singer
*October 26 - Neal Matthews, Jr. (The Jordanaires)
*November 10 - Marilyn Bergman, songwriter
*November 11 - LaVern Baker, R&B singer (d. 1997)
*November 12 - Toshiko Akiyoshi, jazz pianist
*November 24 - Eileen Barton, singer (d. 2006)
*November 28 - Berry Gordy Jr., record producer and founder of the Tamla Motown label
*November 30 - Dick Clark, host of "American Bandstand"
*December 6 - Nikolaus Harnoncourt, conductor
*December 23 - Chet Baker, jazz trumpeter and singer (d. 1988)
*December 25
** Billy Horton (The Silhouettes)
** Chris Kenner, R&B singer and songwriter (d. 1976)

Deaths

*January 11 - Elfrida Andrée, organist, composer and conductor
*January 22 - Adolph Brodsky, violinist (b. 1851)
*January 24 - Jacques Bouhy, operatic baritone
*January 30 - La Goulue, can-can dancer (b. 1866)
*February 24 - André Messager, conductor and composer (b. 1853)
*March 15 - Pinetop Smith, jazz pianist (b. 1904) (shot, during a fight in a dance hall)
*April 4 - Édouard Schuré, poet and music critic (b. 1841)
*April 15 - Antonio Smareglia, opera composer (b. 1854)
*April 30 - Birger Sjöberg, poet and songwriter (b. 1885)
*May 17 - Lilli Lehmann, operatic soprano (b. 1848)
*June 2 - Don Murray, jazz clarinettist (b. 1894) (car accident)
*June 4 - Harry Frazee, producer of Broadway musicals (b. 1881)
*July 3 - Dustin Farnum, singer, dancer and actor (b. 1874)
*August 3 - Emile Berliner, inventor of the gramophone (b. 1851)
*August 19
** Sergei Diaghilev, ballet impresario
** Chris Kelly, jazz musician (b. c. 1890)
** Meta Seinemeyer, operatic soprano (born 1894)
*August 22 - Lucy Broadwood, folk song collector and researcher (b. 1858)
*September 4 - Frederick Freeman Proctor, vaudeville impresario
*October 3 - Jeanne Eagels, Ziegfeld girl and actress (b. 1894)
*October 14 - Henri Berger, composer and royal bandmaster of Hawaii (b. 1844)
*October 17 - Ada Crossley, singer (b. 1874)
*October 27 - A. M. Willner, composer and librettist (b. 1859)
*December - Blind Lemon Jefferson, blues musician (b. 1894)
*December 28 - Hans Kreissig, pianist and conductor (b. 1856)
*"date unknown"
**Antonio Chacón, flamenco singer (b. 1869)
**Frederick Weatherly, songwriter (b. 1848)