1917 in music

Events

• May 12 - Béla Bartók's ballet The Wooden Prince is premiered in Budapest
• First Jazz recordings made by the Original Dixieland Jass Band
• First African American jazz recordings made by Wilber Sweatman's Band
• Eddie Cantor makes his first recordings

Bands formed

• Grimethorpe Colliery Band

Published popular music

• "All The World Will Be Jealous Of Me" w. Al Dubin m. Ernest R. Ball
• "Any Time Is Kissing Time" w. Oscar Asche m. Frederic Norton from the musical Chu Chin Chow
• "Are You From Heaven?" w.m. L. Wolfe Gilbert & Anatol Friedland
• "A Bachelor Gay" w. Frank Clifford Harris & (Arthur) Valentine m. James W. Tate from the musical The Maid of the Mountains
• "Barnyard Blues" w.m. Edwin B. Edwards, Nick La Rocca, Tony Spargo & Larry Shields
• "The Bells Of St Mary's" w. Douglas Furber m. A. Emmett Adams
• "The Bombo-Shay" by Henry Creamer
• "Bring Back My Daddy To Me" m. George W. Meyer w. William Tracey & Howard Johnson
• "Bring Me A Rose" w.m. Charles Shisler
• "Cheer Up, Liza" John L. Golden, Raymond Hubbell
• "Cleopatra Had A Jazz Band" w. Jack Coogan m. Jimmy Morgan
• "Come To The Fair" w. Helen Taylor m. Easthope Martin
• "The Darktown Strutters' Ball" w.m. Shelton Brooks
• "Dixie Jass Band One-Step" Original Dixieland Jass Band
• "Down In The Valley" trad US
• "Eileen (Alanna Asthore)" w. Henry Blossom m. Victor Herbert
• "For Me And My Gal" w. Edgar Leslie & E. Ray Goetz m. George W. Meyer
• "For Your Country And My Country" w.m. Irving Berlin
• "Give A Man A Horse He Can Ride" w. James Thomson m. Geoffrey O'Hara
• "Give Me The Moonlight, Give Me The Girl" w. Lew Brown m. Albert Von Tilzer
• "Going Up" w. Otto Harbach m. Louis A. Hirsch
• "Good Luck And God Be With You, Laddie Boy" w. Will D. Cobb m. Gus Edwards
• "Goodbye Broadway, Hello France" w. C. Francis Reisner & Benny Davis m. Billy Baskette
• "Goodbye Ma! Goodbye Pa! Goodbye Mule!" w. William Herschell m. Barclay Walker
• "Good-bye-ee" w.m. R. P. Weston & Bert Lee
• "Hail! Hail! The Gang's All Here" w. D. A. Esrom m. Theodore F. Morse & Arthur Sullivan
• "Have A Heart" w. P. G. Wodehouse m. Jerome Kern
• "Hawaiian Butterfly" w. George A. Little m. Billy Baskette & Joseph H. Santley
• "Homing" w. Arthur L. Salmon m. Teresa del Riego
• "How Can I Forget When There's So Much To Remember" w.m. Irving Berlin
• "Huckleberry Finn" by Cliff Hess
• "I Don't Know Where I'm Going But I'm On My Way" w.m. George Fairman
• "I Don't Want To Get Well" w. Howard Johnson & Harry Pease m. Harry Jentes
• "I May Be Gone For A Long, Long Time" w. Lew Brown m. Albert Von Tilzer
• "I'd Love To Be A Monkey In The Zoo" w. Bert Hanlon m. Willie White
• "I'll Take You Back To Italy" w.m. Irving Berlin
• "I'm All Bound Round With The Mason-Dixon Line" w. Sam M. Lewis & Joe Young m. Jean Schwartz
• "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows" w. Joseph McCarthy m. Harry Carroll (melody adapted from Chopin)
• "If I Find The Guy Who Wrote "Poor Butterfly" " w. William Jerome m. Arthur Green
• "Indiana" w. Ballard MacDonald m. James F. Hanley
• "Indianola" m. Henry R. Stern & Domenico Savino
• "Joan Of Arc They Are Calling You" w. Alfred Bryan & Willie Weston m. Jack Wells
• "Johnson Rag" m. Guy H. Hall & Henry Kleinhauf
• "Just A Baby's Prayer At Twilight" w. Sam M. Lewis & Joe Young m. M. K. Jerome
• "Leave It To Jane" w. P. G. Wodehouse m. Jerome Kern
• "Let's All Be Americans Now" w.m. Irving Berlin, Edgar Leslie & George W. Meyer
• "Lily Of The Valley" w. L. Wolfe Gilbert m. Anatole Friedland
• "Little Mother Of Mine" w. Walter H. Brown m. Harry T. Burleigh
• "Little Sir Echo" w. Laura R. Smith m. J. S. Fearis

The first "jass" tune to be recorded. Click image for more information.

• "Livery Stable Blues" Alcide Nunez & Ray Lopez
• "Lorraine My Beautiful Alsace Lorraine" w. Alfred Bryan m. Fred Fisher
• "Love Will Find A Way" w. Harry Graham m. Harold Fraser-Simson. Introduced by José Collins in the musical The Maid of the Mountains
• "Mad'moiselle From Armentieres" w.m. anon
• "McNamara's Band" w. John J. Stamford m. Shamus O'Connor
• "The Modern Maiden's Prayer" w. Ballard MacDonald m. James F. Hanley
• "My Sunshine Jane" by Keirn Brennan
• "My Sweetie" w.m. Irving Berlin
• "'N' Everything" w.m. Al Jolson, B. G. DeSylva & Gus Kahn
• "Napoleon" w. P.G. Wodehouse m. Jerome Kern
• "Nesting Time In Flatbush" w. P. G. Wodehouse m. Jerome Kern
• "Oh It's A Lovely War" w.m. Maurice Scott
• "Oh Johnny Oh Johnny Oh" w. Ed Rose m. Abe Olman
• "Ole Miss Rag" w.m. W. C. Handy
• "On The Road To Home Sweet Home" w. Gus Kahn m. Egbert van Alstyne
• "Ostrich Walk" m. Edwin B. Edwards, Nick LaRocca, Tony Spargo & Larry Shields
• "Out Where The West Begins" w. Arthur Chapman m. Estelle Philleo
• "Over There" w.m. George M. Cohan
• "Paddy McGinty's Goat" w.m. R.P. Weston, Bert Lee & The Two Bobs
• "A Paradise For Two" w. Frank Clifford Harris & Valentine m. James W. Tate
• "Regretful Blues" w. Grant Clarke m. Cliff Hess
• "The Road To Paradise" w. Rida Johnson Young m. Sigmund Romberg from the musical Maytime
• "Rockaway" by Howard Johnson
• "Rolled Into One" w. P. G. Wodehouse m. Jerome Kern
• "Rose Room" w. Harry Williams m. Art Hickman
• "Sailin' Away On The Henry Clay" w. Gus Kahn m. Egbert Van Alstyne
• "Say A Prayer For The Boys Out There" w. Bernie Grossman m. Alex Marr
• "Send Me Away With A Smile" w.m. Louis Weslyn & Al Piantadosi
• "Shave 'em Dry" m. Sam Wishnuff
• "Shim-Me-Sha-Wabble" m. Spencer Williams
• "Sing Me Love's Lullaby" w. Dorothy Terris m. Theodore F. Morse
• "The Siren's Song" w. P. G. Wodehouse m. Jerome Kern
• "Six Times Six Is Thirty-Six" w. Bert Hanlon m. William White
• "Slippery Hank" F. H. Losey
• "Smile And Show Your Dimple" w.m. Irving Berlin
• "Smiles" w. J. Will Callahan m. Lee S. Roberts
• "Some Sunday Morning" w. Gus Kahn & Raymond Egan m. Richard A. Whiting
• "Somewhere In France" Ivey
• "Somewhere In France (Is The Lily)" Howard
• "Southern Gals" Yellen, Gumble
• "The Story Book Ball" w.m. Billie Montgomery & George Perry
• "Sweet Emalina My Gal" w.m. Henry Creamer & Turner Layton
• "That's The Kind Of Baby For Me" w.m. Jack Egan & Alfred Harrison
• "There Are Fairies At The Bottom Of Our Garden" w.m. Liza Lehmann
• "There's A Lump Of Sugar Down In Dixie" w. Alfred Bryan & Jack Yellen m. Albert Gumble
• "There's Something Nice About The South" w.m. Irving Berlin
• "They Go Wild Simply Wild Over Me" w. Joseph McCarthy m. Fred Fisher
• "Thine Alone" w. Henry Blossom m. Victor Herbert
• "The Tickle Toe" w. Otto Harbach m. Louis Hirsch
• "Tiger Rag" w. Harry De Costa m. Edwin B. Edwards, Nick La Rocca, Tony Spargo & Larry Shields
• "Till The Clouds Roll By" w. P. G. Wodehouse, Guy Bolton & Jerome Kern m. Jerome Kern
• "Ugly Chile" w.m. Clarence Williams
• "The Waggle O' The Kilt" w.m. Harry Lauder
• "Wait Till The Cows Come Home" w. Anne Caldwell m. Ivan Caryll
• "When The Boys Come Home" w. John Hay m. Oley Speaks
• "When Yankee Doodle Learns To Parlez Vous Francais" w. Will Hart m. Ed G. Nelson
• "Where Do We Go From Here?" w. Howard Johnson m. Percy Wenrich
• "Where The Morning Glories Grow" w. Gus Kahn & Richard Egan m. Richard A. Whiting
• "Why Am I Always The Bridesmaid?" w.m. Fred Leigh, Charles Collins & Lily Morris
• "Will You Remember?" w. Rida Johnson Young m. Sigmund Romberg
• "Wonder Eyes" m. Percy E. Fletcher
• "Yah-De-Dah" M. B. Kaufman
• "You Brought Ireland Right Over To Me" w. J. Keirn Brennan m. Ernest R. Ball
• "You Never Knew About Me" w. P. G. Wodehouse m. Jerome Kern

Hit recordings

• "Livery Stable Blues/Dixie Jass One Step" by the Original Dixieland Jass Band
• "Goodbye Broadway, Hello France" by the American Quartet
• "A Bachelor Gay" by Peter Dawson
• "I Don't Want To Get Well" by Van & Schenck
• "Long Boy" by Byron G. Harlan With The Peerless Quartet
• "Over There" recorded by
  • Billy Murray
  • Nora Bayes
• "Poor Butterfly" by the Victor Military Band

Classical music

• Alexander Glazunov - Piano Concerto No. 2 in B Op. 100
• Launy Grøndahl - Violin Concerto in D Major
• Charles Koechlin - Cello Sonata
• Sergei Prokofiev - Symphony No. 1 Classical
• Ottorino Respighi - Ancient Airs and Dances Suite No. 1
• Jean Sibelius - Humoresques for Violin and Orchestra opp. 87 and 89
• Igor Stravinsky - Chant du Rossignol (opera)
• Karol Szymanowski - Demeter (cantata)
• Heitor Villa-Lobos - Symphony No. 2 Ascenção, The Ascension

Opera

• Armas Launis - Kullervo
• Sergei Prokofiev - The Gambler
• Gabriel von Wayditch - The Caliph's Magician

Musical theater

• The Better 'Ole London production opened at the Oxford Theatre on August 4 and ran for 811 performances
• The Boy London production opened at the Adelphi Theatre on September 14 and ran for 801 performances
• Cheep London revue opened at the Vaudeville Theatre on April 26.
• Chu Chin Chow Broadway production opened at the Manhattan Opera House on October 22 and ran for 208 performances
• Eileen opened at the Shubert Theatre on March 19 and ran for 64 performances.
• Hanky Panky London revue opened at the Empire Theatre on March 24
• Jack O'Lantern Broadway production opened at the Globe Theatre on October 16 and ran for 265 performances
• Leave It To Jane Broadway production opened at the Longacre Theatre on August 28 and ran for 167 performances
• The Maid Of The Mountains London production opened at Daly's Theatre on February 10 and ran for 1352 performances
• Maytime Broadway production opened at the Shubert Theatre on August 16 and ran for 492 performances
• Miss 1917 Broadway revue opened at the Century Theatre on November 5 and ran for 72 performances
• Oh, Boy! (musical) Broadway production opened at the Princess Theatre on February 20 and ran for 463 performances
• The Riviera Girl Broadway production opened at the New Amsterdam Theatre on September 24 and ran for 78 performances

Births

• January 10 - Jerry Wexler, music journalist and record producer (d. 2008)
• January 15 - Tiny Timbrell, guitarist (d. 1992)
• February 11 - Arcesia, singer (d. 1983)
• February 18 - Dona Massin, choreographer (d. 2001)
• February 25 – Anthony Burgess, composer (d. 1993)
• February 27 - George Mitchell, founder of the Black and White Minstrels (d. 2002)
• March 2
  • Desi Arnaz, musician, actor and producer (d. 1986)
  • John Gardner, composer
• March 7 - Janet Collins, dancer and choreographer (d. 2003)
• March 12 - Leonard Chess, founder of Chess Records (d. 1969)
• March 17 - Brian Boydell, Irish composer (d. 2000)
• March 18 - Riccardo Brengola, violinist (d. 2004)
• March 19 - Dinu Lipatti, pianist (d. 1950)
• March 20 - Vera Lynn, singer
• March 23 - Oscar Shumsky, violinist (d. 2000)
• March 26 - Rufus Thomas, singer (d. 2001)
• March 30
  • Els Aarne, composer (d. 1995)
  • Rudolf Brucci, composer (d. 2002)
• April 9 - Johannes Bobrowski, lyricist (d. 1965)
• April 22 - Yvette Chauviré, ballerina
• April 25 - Ella Fitzgerald, jazz singer (d. 1996)
• April 30 - Bea Wain, US band singer
• May 1 - Danielle Darrieux, singer and actress
• May 14 - Norman Luboff, US choral director (d. 1987)
• May 16 - Vera Rózsa, singer and voice teacher
• May 21 - Dennis Day, US singer (d. 1988)
• May 28 - Papa John Creach, fiddler (d. 1994)
• June 4 - Robert Merrill, operatic baritone (d. 2004)
• June 7 - Dean Martin. singer and actor
• June 19 - Dave Lambert, US singer and arranger (d. 1966)
• June 29 - Sylvia Olden Lee, vocal coach and accompanist (d. 2004)
• June 30 - Lena Horne, singer
• July 14 - Roshan, Bollywood composer (d. 1967)
• July 24
  • Robert Farnon, composer (d. 2005)
  • Leonor Orosa Goquinco, pianist and dancer (d. 2005)
• August 3 - Antonio Lauro, guitarist and composer (d. 1986)
• August 22 - John Lee Hooker, blues musician (d. 2001)
• August 23 - Tex Williams, US country singer (d. 1985)
• September 5 - Art Rupe, founder of Specialty Records
• September 11 - Myrta Silva, singer and composer (d. 1987)
• September 13 - Robert Ward, composer
• September 30 - Buddy Rich, drummer (d. 1987)
• October 7 - June Allyson, US singer and actress (d. 2006)
• October 10 - Thelonious Monk, jazz musician (d. 1982)
• October 13 - George Osmond, father of the Osmond brothers (d. 2007)
• October 21
  • William Adam, trumpeter
  • Dizzy Gillespie, jazz musician (d. 1993)
• October 31 - Anna Marly, French singer-songwriter (d. 2006)
• November 12 - Jo Stafford, singer (d. 2008)
• date unknown
  • Walter Brown, blues shouter (d. 1956)
  • Ulpio Minucci, songwriter and composer (d. 2007)
  • Mike Pedicin, jazz bandleader

Deaths

• January 13 - Albert Niemann, Wagnerian tenor (b. 1831)
• February 10 - Emile Pessard, French composer (b. 1843)
• February 25 - Paul Rubens (composer), English songwriter (b. 1875)
• March 4 - Julius Bechgaard, Danish composer (b. 1843)
• March 25 - Spyridon Samaras, composer (b. 1861)
• April 1 - Scott Joplin, ragtime composer (b. 1868)
• April 29 - Florence Farr, actress, singer and composer (b. 1860)
• May 25 - Edouard de Reszke, operatic bass (b. 1853)
• June 12 - Teresa Carreño, pianist, singer and conductor (b. 1853)
• July 16 - Philipp Scharwenka, composer (b. 1847)
• August 7 - Basil Hood, librettist and lyricist (b. 1864)
• August 12 - Pavel Gerdt, dancer (b. 1844)
• September 5 - Marie Hanfstängl, operatic soprano (b. 1848)
• September 8 - Charles Edouard Lefebvre, French composer (b. 1843)
• September 11 - Evie Greene, actress and singer (b. 1875)
• December 7 - Ludwig Minkus, violinist and composer (b. 1826)
• October 3 - Eduardo di Capua, singer and songwriter (b. 1865)
• date unknown - Antonina Miliukova, widow of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

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