See also: 1945 in music, other events of 1946, 1947 in music and the list of 'years in music'.
Events
- February 8 - Béla Bartók's Piano Concerto No. 3 is premiered posthumously by György Sándor with Eugene Ormandy conducting the Philadelphia Orchestra
- Al Jolson rerecords his old hits for the soundtrack of his Columbia biopic The Jolson Story, and becomes a superstar to the post-war generation as well
- Dean Martin's musical career begins
- Little Walter's musical career begins
- B.B. King's musical career begins
- Lightnin' Hopkins' musical career begins
- Chet Atkins' musical career begins
- Georgia Gibbs signs with the Majestic label
- Frankie Laine records "That's My Desire"
Albums released
- King Cole trio volume 2 - Nat King Cole
- Merry Christmas music - Perry Como
- Voice of Frank Sinatra - Frank Sinatra
Top hit records
- "Bumble Boogie" by Freddy Martin & his Orchestra featuring piano Jack Fina
- "Candy" by Johnny Mercer, Jo Stafford & the Pied Pipers
- "Cement Mixer (Put-Ti Put-Ti)" by Rocky Coluccio with Alvino Rey & his Orchestra
- "Choo Choo Ch' Boogie" by Louis Jordan & his Tympany Five
- "The Christmas Song" by the King Cole Trio
- "The Coffee Song" by Frank Sinatra
- "Day By Day" by Frank Sinatra
- "Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief" by Betty Hutton (first charted December 1945)
- "Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief" by Les Brown & his Orchestra with vocal Butch Stone
- "Doin' What Comes Natur'lly" by Dinah Shore with Spade Cooley & his Orchestra
- "Doin' What Comes Natur'lly" by Freddy Martin & his Orchestra with vocal by Glenn Hughes & the Martin Men
- "Five Minutes More" by Frank Sinatra
- "Five Minutes More" by the Tex Beneke-Glenn Miller Orchestra with vocal by Tex Beneke
- "(I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons" by the King Cole Trio
- "The Gypsy" by The Ink Spots
- "The Gypsy" by Dinah Shore
- "The Gypsy" by Sammy Kaye & his Orchestra with vocal by Mary Marlow
- "Hawaiian War Chant" by Spike Jones & his City Slickers
- "Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop" by Lionel Hampton & his Orchestra
- "Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop" by The Tex Beneke-Glenn Miller Orchestra with vocal by Tex Beneke
- "Huggin' And Chalkin' " by Hoagy Carmichael
- "I'm A Big Girl Now" by Sammy Kaye & his Orchestra with vocal by Betty Barclay
- "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows" by Perry Como
- "Laughing On The Outside" by Dinah Shore
- "Laughing On The Outside" by Andy Russell
- "Laughing On The Outside" by Sammy Kaye & his Orchestra with vocal by Billy Williams
- "Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow" by Vaughn Monroe & his Orchestra with vocal by Vaughn Monroe (first charted December 1945)
- "Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow" by Woody Herman and his Orchestra with vocal by Woody Herman
- "Oh What It Seemed To Be" by Frankie Carle & his Orchestra with vocal by Marjorie Hughes
- "Oh What It Seemed To Be" by Frank Sinatra
- "Oh What It Seemed To Be" by Charlie Spivak & his Orchestra with vocal by Jimmy Saunders
- "Oh What It Seemed To Be" by Dick Haymes & Helen Forrest
- "The Old Lamplighter" by Kay Kyser & his Orchestra with vocal by Michael Douglas
- "The Old Lamplighter" by Hal Derwin & his Orchestra
- "The Old Lamplighter" by Sammy Kaye & his Orchestra with vocal by Billy Williams
- "Ole Buttermilk Sky" by Hoagy Carmichael
- "Ole Buttermilk Sky" by Helen Carroll & The Satisfiers
- "Ole Buttermilk Sky" by Paul Weston & his Orchestra with vocal by Matt Dennis
- "Ole Buttermilk Sky" by Kay Kyser & his Orchestra with vocal by Michael Douglas & the Campus Kids
- "One-Zy Two-Zy" by Freddy Martin & his Orchestra with vocal by The Martin Men
- "One-Zy Two-Zy" by Phil Harris
- "Personality" by Johnny Mercer & The Pied Pipers
- "Pretending" by Andy Russell
- "Prisoner Of Love" by The Ink Spots
- "Prisoner Of Love" by Perry Como
- "Rumors Are Flying" by Frankie Carle & his Orchestra with vocal by Marjorie Hughes
- "Rumors Are Flying" by Andrews Sisters with Les Paul
- "Rumors Are Flying" by Betty Rhodes
- "Rumors Are Flying" by Tony Martin
- "Shoo Fly Pie and Apple Pan Dowdy" by Stan Kenton & his Orchestra with vocal by June Christy
- "Shoo Fly Pie and Apple Pan Dowdy" by Dinah Shore
- "Sioux City Sue" by Bing Crosby and The Jesters
- "South America, Take It Away" by Xavier Cugat & his Orchestra with vocal by Buddy Clark
- "South America, Take It Away" by Bing Crosby and The Andrews Sisters
- "Stone Cold Dead In The Market" by Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Jordan
- "Surrender" by Perry Como
- "Symphony" by Freddy Martin & his Orchestra with vocal by Clyde Rogers (first charted December 1945)
- "Symphony" by Benny Goodman & his Orchestra with vocal by Liza Morrow
- "Symphony" by Bing Crosby
- "Symphony" by Jo Stafford
- "They Say It's Wonderful" by Perry Como
- "They Say It's Wonderful" by Frank Sinatra
- "To Each His Own" by Eddy Howard
- "To Each His Own" by Tony Martin
- "To Each His Own" by the Modernaires with Paula Kelly
- "To Each His Own" by The Ink Spots
- "To Each His Own" by Freddy Martin & his Orchestra with vocal by Stuart Wade
- "Winter Wonderland" by Perry Como
- "You Won't Be Satisfied" by Les Brown & his Orchestra with vocal by Doris Day
Other recorded popular music
- "Ain't That Just Like A Woman" - Frankie Laine
- "Aren't You Glad You're You?" - Bing Crosby
- "Black And Blue" - Frankie Laine
- "Blue Skies" - Bing Crosby
- "Blue Turning Grey Over You" - Frankie Laine
- "By The River Sainte Marie" - Frankie Laine
- "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man" - Dinah Shore
- "Come Rain Or Come Shine" - Dinah Shore
- "The Darktown Poker Club" - Phil Harris
- "Frim Fram Sauce" - Louis Armstrong
- "A Gal In Calico"-Bing Crosby
- "Gee, It's Good To Hold You" - Woody Herman (Frances Wayne, vocal)
- "Give Me The Moon Over Brooklyn" - Guy Lombardo & The Lombardo Trio
- "I Cover The Waterfront" - The Ink Spots
- "I Guess I'll Get The Papers And Go Home" - The Mills Brothers
- "Ol' Man Mose" - Georgia Gibbs
- "On The Sunny Side Of The Street" - Frankie Laine
- "Passe" - Tex Beneke
- "Put The Blame On Mame"-Dinah Shore
- "September In The Rain" - Frankie Laine
- "September Song" - Frank Sinatra
- "Seems Like Old Times" - Guy Lombardo
- "Seems Like Old Times" - Vaughn Monroe with The Norton Sisters
- "Some Little Bug" - Phil Harris
- "That Old Black Magic" - Frank Sinatra
- That's What I Like About The South" - Phil Harris
- Time After Time" - Frank Sinatra
- "Les Trois Cloches (The Three Clocks)" - Edith Piaf
- "La Vie En Rose" - Edith Piaf
- "West End Blues" - Frankie Laine
- "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling" - Bing Crosby
- "You Keep Coming Back Like A Song" - Bing Crosby
- "You Keep Coming Back Like A Song" - Georgia Gibbs
- "You Keep Coming Back Like A Song" - Jo Stafford
- "Your Father's Moustache" - Woody Herman
- "You Won't Be Satisfied Until You Break My Heart"-Freddy Martin
- "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah"-Johnny Mercer
Published popular music
- "Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens" w.m. Alex Kramer & Joan Whitney
- "Ain't That Just Like A Woman?" w.m. Fleecie Moore & Claude Demetrius
- "All I Want For Christmas (Is My Two Front Teeth)" w.m. Don Gardner
- "All The Cats Join In" A. Wilder, R. Gilbert, E. Sauter
- "Along With Me" w.m. Harold Rome Introduced by Danny Scholl and Paula Bane in the musical Call Me Mister
- "The 'Ampstead Way" w. Johnny Burke m. Jimmy Van Heusen
- "The Anniversary Song" w.m. Al Jolson & Saul Chaplin
- "Anything You Can Do" w.m. Irving Berlin
- "Aren't You Kind Of Glad We Did?" w. Ira Gershwin m. George Gershwin. Introduced by Dick Haymes and Betty Grable in the 1947 film The Shocking Miss Pilgrim
- "Blue Moon Of Kentucky" w.m. Bill Monroe
- "Bumble Boogie" m. Jack Fina
- "The Christmas Song" w. Robert Wells m. Mel Tormé
- "Coax Me A Little Bit" w. Charles Tobias m. Nat Simon
- "The Coffee Song" w.m. Bob Hilliard & Dick Miles
- "Come Rain Or Come Shine" w. Johnny Mercer m. Harold Arlen
- "Country Style" w. Johnny Burke m. James Van Heusen
- "A Couple Of Song And Dance Men" w.m. Irving Berlin
- "Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans?" w. Eddie De Lange m. Louis Armstrong
- "Doin' What Comes Natur'lly" w.m. Irving Berlin
- "Everybody's Got A Laughing Place" Allie Wrubel
- "The Face on the Dime" w.m. Harold Rome. Introduced by Lawrence Winters in the musical revue Call Me Mister.
- "Feudin' And Fightin' " w. Al Dubin & Burton Lane m. Burton Lane
- "Five Minutes More" w. Sammy Cahn m. Jule Styne
- "For You, For Me, For Evermore" w. Ira Gershwin m. George Gershwin. Introduced by Dick Haymes in the 1947 film The Shocking Miss Pilgrim
- "A Gal In Calico" w. Leo Robin m. Arthur Schwartz
- "The Girl That I Marry" w.m. Irving Berlin. Introduced by Ray Middleton in the musical Annie Get Your Gun and performed by Howard Keel in the 1950 film version.
- "Golden Earrings" w. Jay Livingstone & Ray Evans m. Victor Young
- "The House Of Blue Lights" w.m. Don Raye & Freddie Slack
- "How Are Things In Glocca Morra?" w. E. Y. Harburg m. Burton Lane
- "Huggin' And Chalkin' " w.m. Clancy Hayes & Kermit Goell
- "I Got Lost In His Arms" w.m. Irving Berlin. Introduced by Ethel Merman in the musical Annie Get Your Gun.
- "I Got The Sun In The Morning" w.m. Irving Berlin. Introduced by Ethel Merman in the musical Annie Get Your Gun and performed by Betty Hutton in the 1950 film version.
- "I Guess I'll Get The Papers" w.m. Hughie Prince & Hal Kanner
- "If This Isn't Love" w. E. Y. Harburg m. Burton Lane
- "I'm A Lonely Little Petunia" w.m. John N. Kamano, William E. Faber & Maurice Merl
- "I'm An Indian Too" w.m. Irving Berlin
- "It's A Good Day" w.m. Peggy Lee & Dave Barbour
- "It's A Pity To Say Goodnight" w.m. Billy Reid
- "Laughing On The Outside" w. Ben Raleigh m. Bernie Wayne
- "Legalise My Name" w. Johnny Mercer m. Harold Arlen
- "Linda" w.m. Jack Lawrence
- "Lost In The Stars" w. Maxwell Anderson m. Kurt Weill
- "Managua Nicaragua" w. Albert Gamse m. Irving Fields
- "Military Life" aka "The Jerk Song" w.m. Harold Rome from the musical revue Call Me Mister
- "Moonshine Lullaby" w.m. Irving Berlin
- "My Defences Are Down" w.m. Irving Berlin
- "My Heart Is A Hobo" w. Johnny Burke m. James Van Heusen
- "My Sugar Is So Refined" w. Sylvia Dee m. Sidney Lippman
- "Old Devil Moon" w. E. Y. Harburg m. Burton Lane
- "The Old Lamp-Lighter" w. Charles Tobias m. Nat Simon
- "The Old Soft Shoe" w. Nancy Hamilton m. Morgan Lewis
- "Ole Buttermilk Sky" w.m. Hoagy Carmichael
- "On The Boardwalk In Atlantic City" w. Mack Gordon m. Josef Myrow
- "One-zy Two-zy" w.m. Dave Franklin & Irving Taylor
- "Open The Door, Richard" w. "Dusty" Fletcher & John Mason m. Jack McVea & Dan Howell
- "Put The Blame On Mame" w.m. Allan Roberts & Doris Fisher
- "A Rainy Night In Rio" w. Leo Robin m. Arthur Schwartz
- "The Red Ball Express" w.m. Harold Rome. Introduced by Lawrence Winters in the musical revue Call Me Mister.
- "(Get Your Kicks On) Route 66" w.m. Robert Troup
- "Rumors Are Flying" w.m. Bennie Benjamin & George David Weiss
- "Sooner Or Later" w. Ray Gilbert m. Charles Wolcott
- "South America, Take It Away" w.m. Harold Rome Introduced by Betty Garrett in the musical revue Call Me Mister.
- "Stella By Starlight" w. Ned Washington m. Victor Young
- "Stone Cold Dead In De Market" w.m. Wilmoth Houdini
- "A Sunday Kind Of Love" w.m. Barbara Belle, Anita Leonard, Stan Rhodes & Louis Prima
- "Tenderly" w. Jack Lawrence m. Walter Gross
- "That's All Right" w.m. Arthur Crudup
- "There's Good Blues Tonight" Edna Osser, Glenn Osser
- "There's No Business Like Show Business" w.m. Irving Berlin
- "They Say It's Wonderful" w.m. Irving Berlin
- "The Things We Did Last Summer" w. Sammy Cahn m. Jule Styne
- "Time After Time" w. Sammy Cahn m. Jule Styne
- "To Each His Own" w. Ray Evans m. Jay Livingston
- "Uncle Remus Said" w.m. Johnny Lange, Hy Heath & Eliot Daniel
- "La Vie En Rose" w. (Eng) Mack David (Fr) Edith Piaf m. Louiguy
- "Who Do You Love, I Hope" w.m. Irving Berlin
- "A Woman's Prerogative" w. Johnny Mercer m. Harold Arlen
- "You Call Everybody Darling" w.m. Sam Martin, Ben Trace & Clem Watts
- "You Can't Get A Man With A Gun" w.m. Irving Berlin
- "You Make Me Feel So Young" w. Mack Gordon m. Josef Myrow
- "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah" w. Ray Gilbert m. Allie Wrubel
Classical music
- Benjamin Britten - Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra
- Erich Korngold - Cello Concerto
- William Walton - score for Henry V
- Benjamin Britten - The Rape of Lucretia
- Annie Get Your Gun (Irving Berlin) - Broadway production opened at the Imperial Theatre on May 16 and ran for 1147 performances
- Call Me Mister Broadway revue opened at the National Theatre on April 18 and ran for 734 performances
- Show Boat (Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II - Broadway revival opened at the Ziegfeld Theatre on January 5 and ran for 418 performances
- Song Of Norway London production opened at the Palace Theatre on March 7 and ran for 526 performances
- St. Louis Woman Broadway production opened at the Martin Beck Theatre on March 30 and ran for 113 performances
- Sweetest And Lowest London revue opened at the Ambassador Theatre on May 9 and ran for 791 performances
- Yours Is My Heart Broadway production opened on September 5 at the Shubert Theatre and ran for 36 performances
Births
- January 3 - John Paul Jones, Led Zeppelin
- January 4 - Arthur Conley
- January 6 - Syd Barrett, Pink Floyd
- January 7 - Jann Wenner, publisher of Rolling Stone magazine
- January 7 - Andy Brown, The Fortunes
- January 8 - Robby Krieger, The Doors
- January 10 - Aynsley Dunbar, John Mayall, Jefferson Starship
- January 11 - Naomi Judd
- January 12 - Cynthia Robinson, Sly & the Family Stone
- January 16 - Ronnie Milsap
- January 19 - Dolly Parton
- January 26 - Deon Jackson
- January 27 - Nedra Talley, The Ronettes
- January 31 - Terry Kath, Chicago
- February 7 - Sammy Johns
- February 8 - Adolfo De La Parra, Canned Heat
- February 20 - Randy California, Spirit
- February 20 - Jerome Geils, J.Geils Band
- February 23 - Rusty Young, Poco
- March 7 - Peter Wolf, J. Geils Band
- March 7 - Matthew Fisher, Procol Harum
- March 8 - Randy Meisner, Poco, The Eagles
- March 8 - Carole Bayer Sager
- March 14 - Jim Pons, The Turtles
- March 15 - Howard Scott, War
- March 17 - Harold Brown, War
- March 19 - Paul Atkinson, The Zombies
- March 19 - Ruth Pointer, The Pointer Sisters
- March 24 - Lee Oskar, War
- March 31 - G. Allan Nichol, The Turtles
- April 13 - Al Green
- April 13 - Roy Loney, Flaming Groovies
- April 13 - Jim Pons, The Leaves, The Turtles, Mothers Of Invention
- April 16 - Bobby Vinton
- April 18 - Lenny Baker, Sha Na Na
- April 26 - John Bucky Wilkin, Ronny & the Daytonas
- April 26 - Vito Balsamo, Vito & The Salutations
- May 2 - Lesley Gore
- May 2 - Randy Cain, The Delfonics
- May 2 - Robert Henrit, Argent
- May 7 - Ray Monette, Rare Earth
- May 7 - Arcelio Garcia, Malo
- May 10 - Cher
- May 10 - Dave Mason, Traffic
- May 10 - Donovan
- May 10 - Graham Gouldman, 10cc
- May 12 - Ian McLagan, Faces
- May 13 - Danny Klein, J. Geils Band
- May 24 - Steve Upton, Wishbone Ash
- June 3 - Ian Hunter, Mott the Hoople
- June 5 - Freddy Stone, Sly & the Family Stone
- June 7 - Bill Kreutzmann, The Grateful Dead
- June 9 - John Mitch Mitchell, Jimi Hendrix Experience
- June 11 - John Lawton, Uriah Heep (band)
- June 15 - Noddy Holder, Slade
- June 17 - Barry Manilow
- June 25 - Ian McDonald, record producer, (Foreigner)
- June 30 - Ian Matthews
- July 1 - June Monteiro, Toys
- July 5 - Michael Monarch, Steppenwolf
- July 15 - Linda Ronstadt
- July 19 - Alan Gorrie, Average White Band
- July 20 - Kim Carnes
- July 22 - Mireille Mathieu, French singer
- July 23 - Andy Mackay, Roxy Music
- July 28 - Jonathan Edwards
- July 30 - Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond, Jethro Tull
- July 31 - Bob Welch, Fleetwood Mac
- July 31 - Gary Lewis, Gary Lewis & The Playboys
- August 5 - Jimmy Webb
- August 10 - Peter Karrie, star of West End musical productions
- August 14 - Larry Graham, Sly & The Family Stone
- August 16 - Gordon Fleet, The Easybeats
- August 19 - Beat Raaflaub, conductor
- September 1 - Barry Gibb, The Bee Gees
- September 4 - Gary Duncan, Quicksilver Messenger Service
- September 4 - Greg Elmore, Quicksilver Messenger Service
- September 5 - Freddie Mercury, Queen
- September 5 - Buddy Miles
- September 5 - Loudon Wainwright III
- September 5 - Dean Ford, Marmalade
- September 7 - Alfa Anderson, Chic
- September 9 - Billy Preston
- September 9 - Doug Ingle, Iron Butterfly
- September 11 - Dennis Tufano, The Buckinghams
- September 18 - Alan King, Ace
- September 28 - Helen Shapiro
- September 30 - Sylvia Peterson, The Chiffons
- October 6 - Millie Small
- October 10 - John Prine
- October 14 - Justin Hayward, The Moody Blues
- October 15 - Richard Carpenter, Carpenters
- October 17 - Jim Tucker, The Turtles
- October 21 - Lee Loughname, Chicago
- October 24 - Jerry Edmonton, Steppenwolf
- October 29 - Peter Green, Fleetwood Mac
- November 5 - Herman Brood, Dutch rock 'n' roll artist
- November 5 - Gram Parsons, country music/rock musician
- November 8 - Roy Wood, The Move
- November 19 - Joe Correro Jr., Paul Revere and The Raiders
- November 20 - Duane Allman, The Allman Brothers
- November 22 - Aston Barret, The Upsetters, The Wailers
- November 25 - Bev Bevan, Electric Light Orchestra
- December 1 - Gilbert O'Sullivan
- December 5 - Jose Carreras
- December 5 - Andy Kim
- December 14 - Joyce Vincent-Wilson, Tony Orlando & Dawn
- December 15 - Carmine Appice, Vanilla Fudge, Cactus
- December 16 - Benny Andersson, ABBA
- December 21 - Carl Wilson, The Beach Boys
- December 22 - Rick Nielsen, Cheap Trick
- December 25 - Jimmy Buffett
- December 28 - Edgar Winter
- December 29 - Marianne Faithfull
- December 30 - Patti Smith
- Geoff Emerick, legendary engineer and producer
Deaths
- January 10 - Harry Von Tilzer
- January 18 - Lew Pollack, US composer
- September 16 - Mamie Smith
- November 14 - Manuel de Falla, composer