[edit] Events - January 18 - The Metropolitan Opera House in New York City for the first time hosts a jazz concert; the performers are Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton, Artie Shaw, Roy Eldridge and Jack Teagarden.
- January 20 - Paul Hindemith's Symphonic Metamorphoses on Themes of Weber is premiered in New York City.
- February - The Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra loses its concert hall in an Allied air raid.
- July 28 - Sir Henry Wood, aged 75, conducts his last Promenade Concert.
- August 19 - Italian singers Lucia Mannucci and Virgilio Savona get married.
- October 18 - Orville "Hoppy" Jones, bass singer of the Ink Spots, passes away in New York City.
- December 1 - Béla Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra is premiered in Boston, Massachusetts by the Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by Serge Koussevitzky
- December 15 - Glenn Miller is reported missing. The official explanation is that his plane went down somewhere over the English Channel, although many alternate theories have been suggested.
- Flo Sandon's makes her stage debut, singing in a charity show.
- Jo Stafford launches her solo career.
- Frankie Laine cuts his first singles for the Beltone and Atlas labels.
[edit] Albums released [edit] Biggest hit songs The following songs achieved the highest chart positions in the limited set of charts available for 1944. | # | Artist | Title | Year | Country | Chart Entries | | 1 | Bing Crosby | Swinging On a Star | 1944 |  | US 1940s 1 - Jun 1944, US 1 for 9 weeks Aug 1944, Oscar in 1944, US BB 3 of 1944, POP 3 of 1944, Europe 14 of the 1940s, AFI 37, RYM 44 of 1944, Acclaimed 1619 | | 2 | Bing Crosby & The Andrews Sisters | Don't Fence Me In | 1944 | | US 1940s 1 - Nov 1944, US 1 for 8 weeks Dec 1944, US BB 4 of 1944, Europe 5 of the 1940s, POP 9 of 1944, Acclaimed 1699 | | 3 | Bing Crosby | I'll Be Seeing You | 1944 | | US 1940s 1 - May 1944, US 1 for 4 weeks Jul 1944, US BB 15 of 1944, Europe 15 of the 1940s, POP 15 of 1944, RYM 43 of 1944 | | 4 | Bing Crosby | I Love You | 1944 | | US 1940s 1 - Apr 1944, US 1 for 5 weeks May 1944, US BB 19 of 1944, Europe 21 of the 1940s, POP 23 of 1944, RYM 43 of 1944 | | 5 | Ella Fitzgerald & The Ink Spots | I'm Making Believe | 1944 | | US 1940s 1 - Nov 1944, US 1 for 2 weeks Dec 1944, US BB 14 of 1944, POP 14 of 1944, RYM 23 of 1944 | [edit] Top hit records [edit] Published popular music - "Ac-cent-tchu-ate The Positive" w. Johnny Mercer m. Harold Arlen
- "All of a Sudden My Heart Sings" w. (Eng) Harold Rome (Fr) Jean Marie Blanvillain m. Herpin
- "And Her Tears Flowed Like Wine" w. Joe Greene m. Stan Kenton & Charles Lawrence
- "Bell Bottom Trousers" w.m. Moe Jaffe
- "The Boy Next Door" w.m. Hugh Martin & Ralph Blane
- "Candy" w. Mack David & Joan Whitney m. Alex Kramer
- "Can't Help Singing" w. E. Y. Harburg m. Jerome Kern
- "Dance with a Dolly" w.m. Terry Shand, Jimmy Van Eaton & David Kapp
- "Don't Fence Me In" w.m. Cole Porter
- "Dream" w.m. Johnny Mercer
- "Fine Brown Frame" w.m. Guadalupe Cartiero & J. Mayo Williams
- "First Class Private Mary Brown" w.m. Frank Loesser
- "G. I. Jive" w.m. Johnny Mercer
- "Going My Way" w. Johnny Burke m. James Van Heusen
- "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" w.m. Hugh Martin & Ralph Blane
- "A Hot Time in the Town Of Berlin" w. John De Vries m. Joe Bushkin
- "How Blue the Night" w. Harold Adamson m. Jimmy McHugh
- "How Little We Know" w. Johnny Mercer m. Hoagy Carmichael
- "I Begged Her" w. Sammy Cahn m. Jule Styne
- "I Didn't Know About You" w. Bob Russell m. Duke Ellington
- "I Dream of You (More Than You Dream I Do)" w.m. Marjorie Goetschius & Edna Osser
- "I Fall in Love Too Easily" w. Sammy Cahn m. Jule Styne
- "I Love You" w.m. Cole Porter
- "I'll Walk Alone" w. Sammy Cahn m. Jule Styne
- "I'm Beginning to See the Light" w.m. Duke Ellington, Don George, Johnny Hodges & Harry James
- "I'm Making Believe" w. Mack Gordon m. James V. Monaco
- "Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall" w.m. Allan Roberts & Doris Fisher
- "It Could Happen to You" w. Johnny Burke m. James Van Heusen. Introduced by Dorothy Lamour and Fred MacMurray in the film And the Angels Sing
- "It's Love, Love, Love" w. Mack David m. Alex Kramer & Joan Whitney
- "Jealous Heart" w.m. Jenny Lou Carson
- "Keep a Sunbeam in Your Pocket" w.m. V. Guest & M. Sherwin from the film Bees in Paradise
- "Leave the Dishes in the Sink, Ma" w.m. Milton Berle, Gene Doyle & Spike Jones
- "Like Someone in Love" w. Johnny Burke m. James Van Heusen. Introduced by Dinah Shore in the film Belle of the Yukon.
- "A Little on the Lonely Side" w.m. Dick Robertson, Frank Weldon & James Cavanaugh
- "Long Ago and Far Away" w. Ira Gershwin m. Jerome Kern. Introduced by Martha Mears dubbing for Rita Hayworth in the film Cover Girl
- "Milkman, Keep Those Bottles Quiet" w.m. Don Raye & Gene De Paul
- "More and More" w. E. Y. Harburg m. Jerome Kern From the Universal film Can't Help Singing
- "My Dreams Are Getting Better All The Time" w. Mann Curtis m. Vic Mizzy
- "Nancy (With the Laughing Face)" w. Phil Silvers m. James Van Heusen
- "New York, New York" w. Betty Comden & Adolph Green m. Leonard Bernstein
- "Now I Know" w. Ted Koehler m. Harold Arlen
- "On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe" w. Johnny Mercer m. Harry Warren
- "One Meat Ball" w. Hy Zaret m. Lou Singer
- "Please Don't Say No" w. Ralph Freed m. Sammy Fain from the film Thrill of a Romance
- "Put It There Pal" w. Johnny Burke m. James Van Heusen
- "Rum and Coca-Cola" w.m. Morey Amsterdam, Paul Baron & Jeri Sullivan
- "Saturday Night" w. Sammy Cahn m. Jule Styne
- "Sentimental Journey" w. Bud Green m. Les Brown & Ben Homer
- "Sleighride in July" w. Johnny Burke m. James Van Heusen. Introduced by Dinah Shore in the film Belle of the Yukon.
- "Someday (You'll Want Me to Want You)" w.m. Jimmie Hodges
- "Spring Will Be a Little Late This Year" w.m. Frank Loesser
- "Stella by Starlight" w. Ned Washington m. Victor Young
- "Swinging on a Star" w. Johnny Burke m. James Van Heusen
- "There Goes That Song Again" w. Sammy Cahn m. Jule Styne
- "There's A Fellow Waiting In Poughkeepsie" w. Johnny Mercer m. Harold Arlen
- "There's No You" w. Tom Adair m. Hal Hopper
- "This Heart of Mine" w. Arthur Freed m. Harry Warren
- "Till Then" w.m. Eddie Seiler, Sol Marcus & Guy Wood
- "Twilight Time" w.m. Buck Ram, Mortie Nevins & Artie Dunn
- "Umbriago" w.m. Irving Caesar & Jimmy Durante
- "You Always Hurt the One You Love" w.m. Allan Roberts & Doris Fisher
- "You Belong To My Heart" w. (Eng) Ray Gilbert m. Agustín Lara
- "You Can't Get That No More" w.m. Louis Jordan & Sam Theard
- "You're Nobody Till Somebody Loves You" w.m. Russ Morgan, Larry Stock & James Cavanaugh
[edit] Classical music [edit] Musical theater [edit] Musical films - Allergic to Love starring Noah Beery Jr., Martha O'Driscoll, David Bruce, Franklin Pangborn and Maxie Rosenbloom. Directed by Edward Lilley.
- And the Angels Sing starring Dorothy Lamour, Fred MacMurray and Betty Hutton. Directed by Claude Binyon.
- Babes on Swing Street starring Ann Blyth, Peggy Ryan and Andy Devine and featuring Marion Hutton and Freddie Slack & his Orchestra. Directed by Edward Lilley.
- Bees in Paradise released March 20 starring Arthur Askey, Anne Shelton, Ronald Shiner and Jean Kent
- Belle of the Yukon starring Randolph Scott, Gypsy Rose Lee, Dinah Shore and Bob Burns.
- Can't Help Singing starring Deanna Durbin, Robert Paige and Akim Tamiroff
- Carolina Blues starring Ann Miller and Kay Kyser & his band
- Champagne Charlie starring Tommy Trinder
- Cover Girl starring Rita Hayworth, Gene Kelly, Phil Silvers, Lee Bowman, Jinx Falkenburg, Otto Kruger and Eve Arden. Directed by Charles Vidor.
- Here Come the Waves starring Bing Crosby, Betty Hutton and Sonny Tufts.
- Hey, Rookie starring Ann Miller and Larry Parks
- Hollywood Canteen starring Jack Benny, Eddie Cantor, Joan Crawford, Bette Davis, Roy Rogers, Barbara Stanwyck and Jane Wyman and featuring The Andrews Sisters, Jimmy Dorsey & his Orchestra and Carmen Cavallaro & his Orchestra. Directed by Delmer Daves.
- Jam Session starring Ann Miller and featuring Louis Armstrong & his Orchestra, Alvino Rey & his Orchestra and Charlie Barnet & his Orchestra
- Knickerbocker Holiday starring Nelson Eddy and Charles Coburn
- Lady In The Dark starring Ginger Rogers and Ray Milland
- Meet Me in St. Louis starring Judy Garland, Mary Astor, Tom Drake, Lucille Bremer and Margaret O'Brien. Directed by Vincente Minnelli.
- Meet Miss Bobby Sox starring Bob Crosby, Lynn Merrick and Louise Erickson and featuring Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five. Directed by Glenn Tryon.
- The Merry Monahans starring Donald O'Connor, Peggy Ryan, Jack Oakie, Rosemary DeCamp, Ann Blyth and Isabel Jewell
- Minstrel Man starring Benny Fields and Gladys George
- One Exciting Night starring Vera Lynn
- Rainbow Island starring Dorothy Lamour and Eddie Bracken
- Shine on Harvest Moon starring Ann Sheridan, Dennis Morgan and Jack Carson.
- Something for the Boys released November 1 starring Carmen Miranda, Phil Silvers, Vivian Blaine and Perry Como.
- Step Lively starring Frank Sinatra, Gloria DeHaven, George Murphy and Anne Jeffreys.
- Sweet and Low-Down starring Benny Goodman & his Orchestra, Linda Darnell, Jack Oakie and Lynn Bari
- Swing in the Saddle starring Jane Frazee, The Hoosier Hot Shots, Cousin Emmy and featuring The King Cole Trio and Jimmy Wakely & his Oklahoma Cowboys
- Take It Big starring Jack Haley, Harriet Hilliard, Mary Beth Hughes and Richard Lane and featuring Ozzie Nelson & his Orchestra. Directed by Frank McDonald.
- Time Flies starring Tommy Handley and Evelyn Dall
- Two Girls and a Sailor starring June Allyson, Gloria DeHaven and Van Johnson
- You Can't Ration Love starring Betty Jane Rhodes and Johnny Johnston. Directed by Lester Fuller.
[edit] Births - January 6 - Alan Stivell, folk musician
- January 9:
- January 10 - Frank Sinatra, Jr., singer
- January 16 - Jim Stafford, singer-songwriter and musician
- January 17 - Françoise Hardy, singer
- January 19 - Shelley Fabares, actress and singer
- January 28 - John Tavener, composer
- February 2 - Andrew Davis, conductor
- February 5 - Al Kooper, musician, songwriter and record producer (Blood, Sweat & Tears)
- February 10 - Clifford T. Ward, singer-songwriter (d. 2001)
- February 15 - Mick Avory, drummer (The Kinks)
- February 17 - Karl Jenkins, composer
- February 20 - Lew Soloff, jazz trumpeter, composer and actor
- February 23:
- February 24:
- March 1:
- March 4 - Bobby Womack, singer-songwriter
- March 6 - Mary Wilson (The Supremes)
- March 9 - Mark Lindsay, vocalist (Paul Revere & the Raiders)
- March 15 - Sly Stone, singer, songwriter, musician and record producer
- March 17:
- March 22 - Jeremy Clyde, actor and singer (Chad & Jeremy)
- March 23 - Michael Nyman, composer
- March 26 - Diana Ross, singer
- March 29 – Terry Jacks, singer/songwriter, producer, environmentalist
- April 3 - Tony Orlando, singer
- April 5 - Crispian St. Peters, singer
- April 6:
- April 12 - John Kay, singer, songwriter and guitarist (Steppenwolf)
- April 13 - Jack Casady, bass guitarist (Jefferson Airplane)
- April 15 - Dave Edmunds, rock singer and guitarist
- April 17 – Bobby Curtola, pop singer and teen idol
- April 18 - Skip Spence, singer-songwriter (Moby Grape) (d. 1999)
- May 1 - Rita Coolidge, singer
- May 9 - Richie Furay, country musician and singer (Buffalo Springfield)
- May 12 - James Purify, singer
- May 17 - Jesse Winchester, musician and songwriter
- May 20:
- May 21 - Marcie Blane, singer
- May 24 - Patti LaBelle, singer
- May 28:
- May 31 - Mick Ralphs, guitarist and songwriter (Mott the Hoople)
- June 2 - Marvin Hamlisch, songwriter and composer
- June 6 - Edgar Froese, electronic music pioneer (Tangerine Dream)
- June 7 - Clarence White, guitarist (The Byrds) (d. 1973)
- June 8 - Boz Scaggs, singer-songwriter
- June 17 - Chris Spedding, guitarist and songwriter
- June 21 - Ray Davies, singer-songwriter (The Kinks)
- June 22 - Peter Asher, singer and record producer (Peter & Gordon)
- June 23 - Rosetta Hightower, singer
- June 24:
- June 27 - Bruce Johnston (The Beach Boys)
- June 30 - Glenn Shorrock, singer and songwriter (Little River Band)
- July 8:
- July 22:
- July 25 - Jim McCarty, drummer (The Yardbirds, Renaissance)
- July 27 - Bobbie Gentry, singer-songwriter
- July 28 - Mike Bloomfield, musicianm, guitarist and composer (d. 1981)
- August 2 - Jim Capaldi, drummer, singer and songwriter (Traffic) (d. 2005)
- August 3 - Nino Bravo, singer (d. 1973)
- August 12 - Larry Troutman, R&B musician (Zapp) (d.1999)
- August 18 - Carl Wayne, vocalist (The Move) (d. 2004)
- August 19 - Eddy Raven, country musician
- August 21 - Jackie DeShannon, singer-songwriter
- August 27:
- September 1
- September 3 - Gary Leeds (The Walker Brothers)
- September 12 - Barry White, soul singer-songwriter and record producer (d. 2003)
- September 13 - Peter Cetera, vocalist (Chicago)
- September 16:
- September 23 - Ivan Martin Jirous, poet and musician (The Plastic People of the Universe)
- September 29:
- September 30 - Marilyn McCoo, singer (The 5th Dimension)
- October 1 - Barbara Parritt, (The Toys)
- October 4:
- October 9:
- October 13 - Robert Lamm, keyboardist, singer and songwriter (Chicago)
- October 16 - Patsy Watchorn, folk musician
- October 24:
- October 25 - Jon Anderson, vocalist of Yes
- October 26 - Jim McCann, folk musician
- October 29 - Denny Laine, guitarist and singer (The Moody Blues, Wings)
- November 2 - Keith Emerson, keyboardist and composer (Emerson, Lake & Palmer)
- November 8 - Bonnie Bramlett, singer (Delaney & Bonnie)
- November 10 - Sir Tim Rice, lyricist
- November 12 - Booker T. Jones, musician, record producer, composer and arranger
- November 17 - Gene Clark, singer-songwriter (The Byrds) (d. 1991)
- November 21 - Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor
- November 26 - Jean Terrell, singer
- November 28 - R. B. Greaves, singer
- December 1 - John Densmore (The Doors)
- December 4 - Dennis Wilson (The Beach Boys) (d. 1983)
- December 6 - Jonathan King, singer, songwriter and record producer
- December 7 - Daniel Chorzempa, organist
- December 9:
- December 11 - Brenda Lee, singer
- December 12 - Rob Tyner (MC5)
- December 13 - Marti Webb, singer
- December 19:
- December 20 - Bobby Colomby, drummer (Blood, Sweat & Tears)
- December 21 - Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor
- December 22 - Barry Jenkins, drummer (The Animals)
- December 25 - Henry Vestine, guitarist (Canned Heat) (d. 1997)
- December 27 - Mick Jones, guitarist, songwriter and record producer (Foreigner)
[edit] Deaths - January 9 - Johanna Beyer, pianist and composer (b. 1888)
- January 29 - Carl Aeschbacher, choirmaster and composer (b. 1886)
- February 4 - Yvette Guilbert, cabaret singer and actress (b. 1865)
- February 7 - Lina Cavalieri, opera singer (b. 1874)
- April 4 - Alma Rosé, violinist and composer (b. 1906) (food poisoning or typhoid at Auschwitz concentration camp)
- April 13 - Cecile Chaminade, pianist (b. 1857)
- April 23 - Marion Harris, jazz singer (b. 1857) (hotel fire)
- April 19 - Jimmie Noone, jazz musician (b. 1895)
- May 9 - Dame Ethel Smyth, composer (b. 1858)
- May 16 - Leone Sinigaglia, composer (b. 1868)
- May 20 - Vincent Rose, Italian-born US bandleader and composer
- June 2 - Zikmund Schul, composer (b. 1916) (tuberculosis)
- June 5 - Riccardo Zandonai, opera composer (b. 1883)
- June 10 - Sylvio Lazzari, composer (b. 1857)
- June 25 - Lucha Reyes (Mexican singer) (b. 1906) (suicide)
- July 4 - Alice Burville, singer and actress (b. 1856)
- July 14 - Asmahan, Syrian singer and actress (b. 1912) (drowned)
- July 19 - Will Marion Cook, violinist and composer (b. 1869)
- August 1 - Cecil Mack, songwriter and music publisher (b. 1883)
- August 7 - Agustin Barrios, composer (b. 1885)
- August 8 - Aino Ackté, operatic soprano (b. 1876)
- August 12 - James Simon, pianist, composer and musicologist (b. 1880) (killed at Auschwitz concentration camp)
- August 19 - Sir Henry Wood, conductor (b. 1869)
- October 1 - Carlo Sigmund Taube, pianist, conductor and composer (b. 1897) (killed at Auschwitz concentration camp)
- October 16 - Hans Krása, Czech-German composer (b. 1899) (gassed in Auschwitz)
- November 14 - Carl Flesch, violinist (b. 1873)
- November 26 - Florence Foster Jenkins, soprano famous for her lack of musical ability (b. 1868)
- November 27 - Margarete Dessoff, conductor, singer and voice teacher (b. 1874)
- November 30 - Antoine Mariotte, conductor and composer (b. 1875)
- December 2 - Josef Lhévinne, pianist (b. 1874)
- December 15 - Glenn Miller, trombonist, composer and bandleader (b. 1904) (missing in action)
- December 20 - Johnny Marvin, US singer & songwriter
- December 27 - Amy Beach, composer and pianist (b. 1867)
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