1940 in music

list of 'years in music'.

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

• "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

• "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 René
• "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

• 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

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

• 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