See also: 1949 in music, other events of 1950, 1951 in music, 1950s in music and the list of 'years in music'

Events

• Malcolm Sargent becomes chief conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra.
• Legendary singer Al Jolson dies on the 23rd of October.
• Mitch Miller signs as A&R man with Columbia Records.
• Patti Page becomes the first (and only) artist to have a Number One record on the Pop, R&B and Country charts concurrently.
• Al Cernick is signed to Columbia by Mitch Miller, who changes the singer's name to Guy Mitchell.
• Columbia Records lures Jo Stafford away from Capitol.
• Georgia Gibbs leaves the Majestic label and scores her first charting single with Coral
• Bandleader Les Baxter founds the school of "Outer Space" exotica.
• Albert King's musical career begins
• Sam Cooke joins The Soul Stirrers
• On January 3, Sam Phillips opened the doors at 706 Union Avenue in Memphis, Tennessee of what was to become the most famous music recording studio in the world, Sun Records

Albums released

• "American Folk Songs" - Jo Stafford
• "Auld Lang Syne" - Bing Crosby
• "Autumn In New York" - Jo Stafford
• "Barber Shop Ballads" - The Mills Brothers
• "Blue Of Night" - Bing Crosby
• "Christmas Greetings" - Bing Crosby
• "Cole Porter Songs" - Bing Crosby
• "Country Feelin'" - Dinah Shore
• "Drifting And Dreaming" - Bing Crosby
• "The Fat Man" - Fats Domino
• "Frankie Laine" - Frankie Laine
• "Going My Way" - Bing Crosby
• "Oh! Susanna" - Al Jolson
• "Sing A Song Of Christmas" - The Ames Brothers
• "Sing And Dance With Frank Sinatra" - Frank Sinatra
• "Songs By Gershwin" - Bing Crosby
• "Songs For Young Lovers" - Frank Sinatra
• "Tea For Two" - Doris Day
• "Two Loves Have I" - Frankie Laine

Top hit records

• "A-Razz-A-Ma-Tazz" - Georgia Gibbs
• "All My Love (Bolero)" - Patti Page
• "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" - Al Jolson
• "Ballin' The Jack" - Georgia Gibbs
• "Ballin' The Jack" - Danny Kaye
• "Be My Love" - Mario Lanza
• "Bewitched" - Doris Day
• "Black Lace" - Frankie Laine
• "Boo-Hoo" - Guy Lombardo & The Lombardo Trio
• "A Bushel And A Peck" - Perry Como & Betty Hutton
• "Can Anyone Explain? (No, No, No!)" - The Ames Brothers
• "Chattanoogie Shoe Shine Boy" - Red Foley
• "Cry Of The Wild Goose" - Frankie Laine
• "Daddy's Little Girl" - The Mills Brothers
• "Dear, Dear, Dear" - Frankie Laine
• "Dream A Little Dream Of Me" - Frankie Laine
• "A Dreamer's Holiday" - Buddy Clark & The Girlfriends
• "Enjoy Yourself" - Guy Lombardo (Kenny Gardner & The Lombardo Trio vocals)
• "Goodnight, Irene" - The Weavers with Gordon Jenkins
• "Harbor Lights" - Sammy Kaye
• "Here Comes Santa Claus" - Andrews Sisters
• "L'Hymne A L'Amour (Hymn To Love)" - Edith Piaf
• "I Can Dream, Can't I?" - The Andrews Sisters
• "I Love You For That" - Patti Page & Frankie Laine
• "I Wanna Be Loved" - The Andrews Sisters
• "If I Knew You Were Comin' I'd've Baked a Cake" - Eileen Barton
• "I'm Moving On" - Hank Snow
• "It Isn't Fair" - Sammy Kaye (Don Cornell vocal)
• "Let's Go West Again" - Al Jolson
• "A Man Gets Awfully Lonesome" - Frankie Laine
• "Mona Lisa" - Nat King Cole
• "Music, Maestro, Please" - Frankie Laine
• "Music! Music! Music!" - Teresa Brewer
• "My Heart Cries For You" - Guy Mitchell
• "Nevertheless" - The Mills Brothers
• "No Other Love" - Jo Stafford
• "The Old Piano Roll Blues" Al Jolson & The Andrews Sisters
• "Patricia" - Perry Como
• "Play A Simple Melody" - Gary Crosby & Friend (Bing Crosby)
• "Rag Mop" - The Ames Brothers
• "Red Hot Mama" - Georgia Gibbs
• "The Roving Kind" - Guy Mitchell
• "Sentimental Me" - The Ames Brothers
• "Sleepy Ol' River" - Frankie Laine
• "Someday" - The Mills Brothers
• "Someday" - Vaughn Monroe
• "Sometime" - The Mariners
• "Stars & Stripes Forever" - Frankie Laine
• "Swingin' In A Hammock" - Guy Lombardo (Don Rodney & The Lombardo Trio vocals)
• "The Tennessee Waltz" - Patti Page
• "There's No Tomorrow" - Tony Martin
• "The Thing" - Phil Harris
• "The Third Man Theme" - Anton Karas
• "The Third Man Theme" - Guy Lombardo
• "With My Eyes Wide Open I'm Dreaming" - Patti Page

Published popular music

• "Adelaide's Lament" w.m. Frank Loesser
• "American Beauty Rose" w.m. Hal David, Redd Evans & Arthur Altman
• "Be My Love" w. Sammy Cahn m. Nicholas Brodszky
• "The Best Thing For You" w.m. Irving Berlin
• "Blind Date" w.m. Sid Robin
• "A Bushel And A Peck" w.m. Frank Loesser
• "Candy And Cake" w.m. Bob Merrill
• "Chattanoogie Shoe Shine Boy" w.m. Harry Stone & Jack Stapp
• "Choo'n Gum" w. Mann Curtis m. Vic Mizzy
• "Cold, Cold Heart" w.m. Hank Williams
• "The Cry Of The Wild Goose" w.m. Terry Gilkyson
• "Dearie" w.m. Bob Hilliard & David Mann
• "Freight Train" w. Paul James & Fred Williams m. trad arr. Elizabeth Cotton
• "The French Can-Can Polka" w. Jimmy Kennedy m. Jacques Offenbach
• "From This Moment On" w.m. Cole Porter
• "Frosty The Snowman" w.m. Steve Nelson & Jack Rollins
• "Fugue For Tinhorns" w.m. Frank Loesser
• "Get Out Those Old Records" w.m. Carmen Lombardo & John Jacob Loeb
• "Gone Fishin"' w.m. Nick Kenny & Charles Kenny
• "Guys And Dolls" w.m. Frank Loesser
• "Home Cookin"' w.m. Jay Livingston & Ray Evans
• "Hoop-Dee-Doo" w. Frank Loesser m. Milton De Lugg
• "The Hostess With The Mostes' On The Ball" w.m. Irving Berlin
• "I Didn't Slip, I Wasn't Pushed, I Fell" w.m. Edward Pola & George Wyle
• "I Don't Care If The Sun Don't Shine" w.m. Mack David
• "I Taut I Taw A Puddy Tat" w.m. Alan Livingston, Billy May & Warren Foster
• "If I Knew You Were Comin' I'd've Baked A Cake" w.m. Al Hoffman, Bob Merrill & Clem Watts
• "If I Were A Bell" w.m. Frank Loesser
• "I'll Know" w.m. Frank Loesser
• "I'll Never Be Free" w.m. Bennie Benjamin & George David Weiss
• "I'm Movin' On" w.m. Hank Snow
• "It Is No Secret" w.m. Stuart Hamblen
• "It's A Lovely Day Today" w.m. Irving Berlin
• "I've Never Been In Love Before" w.m. Frank Loesser
• "Ivory Rag" Lou Busch , Jack Elliott
• "Little White Duck" w.m. Walt Barrows & Bernard Zaritsky
• "The Loveliest Night Of The Year" w. Paul Francis Webster m. Juventino P. Rosa
• "Luck Be A Lady" w.m. Frank Loesser
• "Lucky Lucky Lucky Me" Berle, Arnold
• "Marry The Man Today" w.m. Frank Loesser
• "Marrying For Love" w.m. Irving Berlin
• "More I Cannot Wish You" w.m. Frank Loesser
• "Music! Music! Music!" w.m. Stephen Weiss & Bernie Baum
• "My Heart Cries For You" w.m. Carl Sigman & Percy Faith
• "My Time Of Day" w.m. Frank Loesser
• "No Other Love" adapt from Chopin's Etude No 3 in E, Opus 10. w.m. Bob Russell & Paul Weston
• "The Old Piano Roll Blues" w.m. Cy Coben
• "The Oldest Established" w.m. Frank Loesser
• "Orange Coloured Sky" w.m. Milton De Lugg & William Stein
• "Patricia" w.m. Benny Davis
• "Remember Me (I'm The One Who Loves You)" w.m. Stuart Hamblen
• "The Roving Kind" adapt. w.m. Jessie Cavanaugh & Arnold Stanton
• "Sam's Song" w. Jack Elliott m. Lew Quadling
• "Shot Gun Boogie" w.m. Tennessee Ernie Ford
• "Silver Bells" w.m. Jay Livingston & Ray Evans
• "Sit Down, You're Rockin' The Boat" w.m. Frank Loesser
• "Sixty Minute Man" w.m. Billy Ward & Rose Marks
• "Sleigh Ride" w. Mitchell Parish m. Leroy Anderson
• "Sue Me" w.m. Frank Loesser
• "The Syncopated Clock" w. Mitchell Parish m. Leroy Anderson
• "Take Back Your Mink" w.m. Frank Loesser
• "The Thing" w.m. Charles R. Grean
• "Tzena, Tzena, Tzena" adapt. trad Yiddish w. (Eng) Mitchell Parish m. Issachar Miron (Michrovsky) & Julius Grossman
• "You Don't Have To Be A Baby To Cry" w.m. Bob Merrill & Terry Shand
• "You're Just In Love" w.m. Irving Berlin

Classical music

• Arno Babadjanian - Heroic Ballade
• Ernest Bloch - Suite hébraïque
• Jesus Guridi - Cuarteto en la menor

Opera

• Luigi Dallapiccola - Il Prigionero (The Prisoner)
• Gian-Carlo Menotti - The Consul

Musical theater

• Ace Of Clubs Music, Lyrics and Book: Noël Coward. London revue opened at the Cambridge Theatre on July 7 and ran for 211 performances
• Alive And Kicking Broadway production opened at the Winter Garden Theatre on January 17 and ran for 46 performances
• Arms And The Girl Broadway production opened at the 46th Street Theatre on February 2 and ran for 134 performances
• Bless You All Broadway revue opened at the Mark Hellinger Theatre on December 14 and ran for 84 performances
• Blue For A Boy Music: Harry Parr-Davies Lyrics: Harold Purcell Book: Austin Melford. London production opened at His Majesty's Theatre on November 30 and ran for 664 performances
• Call Me Madam Music & Lyrics: Irving Berlin Book: Howard Lindsay & Russel Crouse. Broadway production opened at the Imperial Theatre on October 12 and ran for 644 performances
• Carousel (Music: Richard Rodgers Lyrics and Book: Oscar Hammerstein II.) London production opened at the Drury Lane Theatre on June 7 and ran for 566 performances.
• Guys And Dolls (Music and Lyrics: Frank Loesser Book: Abe Burrows & Jo Swerling ). Broadway production opened at the 46th Street Theatre on November 24 and ran for 1200 performances.
• The Highwayman Music, Lyrics & Book: Edmond Samuels. Australian production opened at the Kings Theatre , Melbourne on November 18
• Out Of This World Broadway production opened at the New Century Theatre on December 21 and ran for 157 performances.
• Peter Pan Lyrics and Music: Leonard Bernstein. Broadway production opened at the Imperial Theatre on April 24 and ran for 321 performances

Musical films

• An American in Paris
• Annie Get Your Gun
• Cinderella
• Fancy Pants
• I'll Get By
• The Merry Widow
• Mr Music
• No, No, Nanette
• Pagan Love Song
• Three Little Words
• The Toast Of New Orleans
• Two Weeks With Love

Births

• January 1 - Morgan Fisher , Mott the Hoople
• January 1 - Steve Ripley , The Tractors
• January 5 - Chris Stein, Blondie
• January 9 - David Johansen, New York Dolls, Buster Poindexter & His Banshees of Blue
• January 21 - Billy Ocean
• January 23 - Pat Simmons , The Doobie Brothers
• January 23 - Danny Federici, E Street Band
• January 26 - Paul Pena
• February 2 - Ross Valory, Santana
• February 6 - Natalie Cole
• February 8 - Danny Seals
• February 11 - Rochelle Fleming , soul music vocalist
• February 12 - Steve Hackett, Genesis
• February 13 - Peter Gabriel
• February 19 - Andy Powell , Wishbone Ash
• February 20 - Walter Becker, Steely Dan
• February 23 - Steven Priest , Sweet
• February 26 - Jonathan Cain , Journey
• March 2 - Karen Carpenter, Carpenters
• March 4 - Billy Gibbons, ZZ Top
• March 13 - Danny Kirwan , Fleetwood Mac
• March 20 - Carl Palmer, Emerson, Lake & Palmer
• March 21 - Roger Hodgson , Supertramp
• March 26 - Teddy Pendergrass
• March 27 - Tony Banks, Genesis
• April 5 - Agnetha Fältskog, ABBA
• April 12 - David Cassidy
• April 15 - Tonio K, singer
• April 22 - Peter Frampton
• April 25 - Steve Ferrone, Average White Band
• May 2 - Lou Gramm, Foreigner
• May 3 - Mary Hopkin
• May 9 - Tom Petersson, Cheap Trick
• May 12 - Jocko Marcellino , Sha Na Na
• May 12 - Billy Squier
• May 13 - Stevie Wonder
• May 17 - Bill Bruford, Yes, King Crimson
• May 18 - Mark Mothersbaugh, Devo
• May 22 - Bernie Taupin
• May 29 - Rebbie Jackson
• May 24 - Terry Scott Taylor, record producer, The Lost Dogs, Daniel Amos, The Swirling Eddies
• June 1 - Graham Russell, Air Supply
• June 2 - Antone Tavares
• June 3 - Suzi Quatro
• June 5 - Laurie Anderson
• June 5 - Ronnie Dyson
• June 8 - Alex Van Halen, Van Halen
• June 15 - Noddy Holder, Slade
• June 19 - Ann Wilson, Heart
• June 21 - Joey Kramer, Aerosmith
• July 10 - Greg Kihn
• July 12 - Eric Carr, Kiss (+1991)
• July 14 - Gwen Guthrie (+1999)
• July 18 - Glenn Hughes, The Village People
• July 23 - Blair Thornton , Bachman Turner Overdrive
• August 1 - Jim Carroll
• August 8 - Andy Fairweather-Low , Amen Corner
• August 11 - Eric Braunn , Iron Butterfly
• August 12 - Kid Creole
• August 15 - Tom Aldrich , Black Oak Arkansas
• August 18 - Dennis Elliott , Foreigner
• August 25 - Willy DeVille
• September 4 - Ronald LaPread , The Commodores
• September 10 - Joe Perry, Aerosmith
• September 14 - Paul Kossoff, Free
• September 17 - Fee Waybill , Tubes
• October 2 - Michael Rutherford , Genesis
• October 8 - Robert Kool Bell, Kool and The Gang
• October 11 - Andrew Woolfolk , Earth Wind and Fire
• October 15 - Chris De Burgh
• November 1 - Dan Peek , America
• November 11 - Jim Peterik , Ides Of March, Survivor
• November 18 - Graham Parker
• November 21 - Livingston Taylor
• November 22 - Tina Weymouth, The Talking Heads
• November 22 - Steven Van Zandt (aka "Little Steven", "Miami Steve"), E Street Band
• December 1 - Keith Thibodeaux, drummer and actor ("Little Ricky" on I Love Lucy)
• December 5 - Camarón de la Isla, flamenco singer
• December 9 - Joan Armatrading
• December 28 - Alex Chilton, The Box Tops, Big Star

Deaths

• February 26 - Harry Lauder, Scottish singer, comedian and songwriter
• April 8 - Vaslav Nijinsky, ballet dancer
• July 1 - Emile Jaques-Dalcroze, developer of Eurhythmics
• July 11 - Buddy De Sylva, songwriter
• October 23 - Al Jolson
• December 2 - Dinu Lipatti, pianist