See also: 1927 in music, other events of 1928, 1929 in music and the list of 'years in music'.
Events
- Sammy Davis Jr.'s musical career begins
- Tampa Red's musical career begins
- Scrapper Blackwell's musical career begins
- Leroy Carr's musical career begins
- Howlin' Wolf's musical career begins
- Armad Ardoin makes the first recordings of zydeco in Louisiana
Top Hits
- "Memories of France" by Al Dubin
- "How About Me?" by Irving Berlin
- "Marie" by Irving Berlin
- "One Kiss" by Oscar Hammerstein
- "Ma Belle" by Clifford Grey
- "Golden Gate" by Rose & Dreyer
- "Making Whoopee" by Gus Kahn
- "Nagasaki" by Mort Dixon & Harry Warren
- "Pinetop's Boogie Woogie" by Pinetop Smith
Births
- January 30 - Ruth Brown
- January 31 - Chuck Willis
- February 26 - Fats Domino
- April 3 - Don Gibson
- April 5 - Tony Williams, The Platters
- April 29 - Carl Gardner, The Coasters
- May 3 - James Brown
- May 4 - Maynard Ferguson
- August 10 - Jimmy Dean
- August 10 - Eddie Fisher
- September 15 - Cannonball Adderly
- September 28 - Tuli Kupferberg, The Fugs
- December 30 - Bo Diddley