1918 in music

Events

• March 3 - Béla Bartók's String Quartet No. 2 is premiered in Budapest
• May 24 - Béla Bartók's opera Duke Bluebeard's Castle (composed 1911) is premiered in Budapest.
• April 30/May 1 - Toivo Kuula is mortally wounded in the Finnish Civil War.
• November 15 - Rosa Ponselle makes her Metropolitan Opera début as Leonora in Verdi's La forza del destino, opposite Enrico Caruso.
• Ralph Vaughan Williams is appointed Director of Music, First Army.
• First documented racially integrated jazz recording session.
• Worldwide sales of phonograph/gramophone records estimated at 100 million records this year.

Published popular music

• "After You've Gone" w. Henry Creamer m. Turner Layton
• "At The Jazz Band Ball" w.m. Edwin B. Edwards, Nick LaRocca, Tony Spargo & Larry Shields
• "Bagdad" w.Harold Atteridge m.Al Jolson
• "Beautiful Ohio" w. Ballard MacDonald m. Mary Earl
• "Clarinet Marmalade" m. Edwin B. Edwards, Nick LaRocca, Tony Spargo & Larry Shields
• "Dallas Blues" w. Lloyd Garrett m. Hart A. Wand
• "Dancing 'neath the Dixie moon" w. Will J. Hart m. Ed. Nelson.
• "Dark Grows The Sky" w. Harry Graham m. Harold Fraser-Simson
• "The Daughter Of Rosie O'Grady" w. Monty C. Brice m. Walter Donaldson
• "Dear Little Boy Of Mine" w. J. Keirn Brennan m. Ernest R. Ball
• "Dear Old Pal Of Mine" w. Harold Robe m. Lt. Gitz Rice
• "Ding Dong" w.m. Irving Berlin
• "Every Day" by Shelton Brooks
• "Ev'rybody's Crazy 'bout the Doggone Blues, But I'm Happy" by Henry Creamer and Turner Layton
• "Everything Is Peaches Down In Georgia" w. Grant Clarke m. Milton Ager
• "Fidgety Feet" m. Edwin B. Edwards, Nick La Rocca, Tony Spargo & Larry Shields
• "A Good Man Is Hard To Find" w.m. Eddie Green
• "Good Morning Mr. Zip-Zip-Zip!" w.m. Robert Lloyd
• "Good-bye, France" w.m. Irving Berlin
• "Hello, Central, Give Me No Man's Land" w. Sam M. Lewis & Joe Young m. Jean Schwartz
• "Hindustan" w.m. Oliver G. Wallace & Harold Weeks
• "Hinky Dinky Parlay Voo" by Edward Rowland
• "How Can You Tell" by Ned Wayburn
• "How Ya Gonna Keep 'Em Down On The Farm" w. Sam M. Lewis & Joe Young m. Walter Donaldson
• "I Found The End Of The Rainbow" w.m. John Mears, Harry Tierney & Joseph McCarthy
• "I Want To Shimmy" by Shelton Brooks
• "If He Can Fight Like He Can Love, Good Night Germany" w. Grant Clarke & Howard Johnson m. George W. Meyer
• "I'll Say She Does" w.m. B. G. DeSylva, Gus Kahn & Al Jolson
• "In The Land Of Beginning Again" w. Grant Clarke m. George W. Meyer
• "Ja-Da" w.m. Bob Carleton
• "K-K-K-Katy" w.m. Geoffrey O'Hara
• "Madelon" w. (Eng) Alfred Bryan (Fr) Louis Bousquet m. Camille Robert
• "Mammy's Chocolate Soldier" w. Sidney Mitchell m. Archie Gottler
• "Me-Ow!" by Mel B. Kaufman
• "Mickey" w. Harold H. Williams m. Neil Moret
• "My Baby Boy" w. William Dillon m. Albert Von Tilzer
• "Oh How I Wish I Could Sleep Until My Daddy Comes Home" w. Sam M. Lewis & Joe Young m. Pete Wendling
• "Oh! Frenchy!" w. Sam Ehrlich m. Con Conrad
• "Oh! How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning" w.m. Irving Berlin
• "On The Road To Calais" w. Alfred Bryan m. Al Jolson
• "Original Dixieland One-Step" w.m. Joe Jordan (musician), Nick LaRocca & J. Russell Robinson
• "Oui Oui Marie" w. Alfred Bryan & Joseph McCarthy m. Fred Fisher
• "Rock-A-Bye Your Baby With A Dixie Melody" w. Sam M. Lewis & Joe Young m. Jean Schwartz
• "The Rose Of No Man's Land" w. Jack Caddigan m. James A. Brennan
• "Russian Rag" m. George L. Cobb
• "Somebody Stole My Gal" w.m. Leo Wood
• "Sometime" by Rida Johnson Young
• "Tell That To The Marines" w. Harold Atteridge & Al Jolson m. Jean Schwartz
• "That Tumble-Down Shack In Athlone" w. Richard W. Pascoe m. Monte Cobb & Alma M. Saunders
• "That Wonderful Mother Of Mine" w. Clyde Hager m. Walter Goodwin
• "There's Nobody Home but Me" w. Sam Erlich m. Con Conrad
• "They Were All Out Of Step But Jim" w.m. Irving Berlin
• "Those Draftin' Blues" w.m. Maceo Pinkard
• "Till We Meet Again" w. Raymond B. Egan m. Richard A. Whiting
• "Tishomingo Blues" Spencer Williams
• "Wedding Bells, Will You Ever Ring For Me?" w. Sam M. Lewis & Joe Young m. Jean Schwartz
• "We'll Do Our Share while You're Over There" w. Lew Brown & Al Herriman m. Jack Egan
• "When Alexander Takes His Ragtime Band To France" w. Alfred Bryan & Edgar Leslie m. Cliff Hess
• "When Tony Goes Over The Top" w. Billy Frisch & Archie Fletcher m. Alex Marr
• "When You Look In The Heart Of A Rose" w. Marion Gillespie m. Florence Methuen
• "Why Do They All Take The Night Boat To Albany?" w. Joe Young & Sam M. Lewis m. Jean Schwartz
• "Without You" w. Nora Bayes m. Irving Fisher
• "Would You Rather Be A Colonel With An Eagle On Your Shoulder Or A Private With A Chicken On Your Knee?" w. Sidney D. Mitchell m. Archie Gottler
• "You'll Find Old Dixieland In France" w. (Eng) Grant Clarke (Fr) Louis Delamarre m. George W. Meyer
• "You're In Style When You're Wearing A Smile" w.m. Al W. Brown, Gus Kahn & Egbert van Alstyne

Top hit recordings

• "Tiger Rag/Skeleton Jangle" by the Original Dixieland Jass Band
• "Over There" by Enrico Caruso
• "After You've Gone" by Marion Harris
• "Smiles" by Joseph C. Smith's Orchestra
• "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows" by Charles Harrison
• "Rock-A-Bye Your Baby With a Dixie Melody" by Al Jolson
• "Hello Central, Give Me No-Man's Land" by Al Jolson
• "I'm Sorry I Made You Cry" by Henry Burr

Classical music

• Arnold Bax - Symphonic Variations
• Frederick Delius - A Song Before Sunrise
• Alexander Glazunov - Romance of Nina
• Agustín Barrios - Un sueño en la foresta
• Carl Nielsen - Pan and Syrinx (tone poem)
• Karol Szymanowski - Songs of an infatuated Muezzin

Opera

• Charles Wakefield Cadman - Shanewis
• Giacomo Puccini - Il Trittico (consisting of Il Tabarro, Suor Angelica and Gianni Schicchi)
• Gabriel von Wayditch - Jesus Before Herod

Musical theatre

• As You Were London production opened at the Pavilion on August 3
• The Better 'Ole Broadway production opened at the Greenwich Village Theatre on October 19, transferred to the Cort Theatre on November 18 and transferred to the Booth Theatre on June 16, 1919 for a total run of 353 performances
• Buzz-Buzz London revue opened at the Vaudeville Theatre on December 20 and ran for 612 performances
• The Canary Broadway production opened at the Globe Theatre on November 4 and ran for 152 performances
• Fiddlers Three Broadway production opened at the Cort Theatre on September 3 and ran for 87 performances
• The Girl Behind The Gun Broadway production opened at the New Amsterdam Theatre on September 16 and ran for 160 performances
• Hullo, America London production opened at the Palace Theatre on September 25
• The Lilac Domino London production opened at the Empire Theatre on February 21 and ran for 747 performances
• Listen Lester (Music: Harold Orlob Book and Lyrics: Harry L. Cort & George E. Stoddard. Broadway production opened at the Knickerbocker Theatre on December 23 and ran for 272 performances. Starring Mary Milburn, Eddie Garvie, Johnny Dooley, Clifton Webb, Ada Mae Weeks, Ada Lewis and Gertrude Vanderbilt.
• Oh, Lady! Lady!! Broadway production opened at the Princess Theatre on February 1, transferred to the Casino Theatre on June 17 and ran for a total of 219 performances.
• The Passing Show of 1918 Broadway revue opened at the Winter Garden Theatre on July 25 and ran for 142 performances
• Phi-Phi Paris operetta opened at the Bouffes-Parisiens on November 12
• Sinbad Broadway production opened at the Winter Garden Theatre on February 14 and ran for 164 performances
• Sometime (Music: Rudolf Friml Book: Rida Johnson Young Lyrics: Rida Johnson Young ) Broadway production opened at the Shubert Theatre on October 4 and transferred to the Casino Theatre on November 11 for a total run of 283 performances. Featuring Mae West and Ed Wynn
• Toot-Toot! Broadway production opened at George M. Cohan's Theatre on March 11 and ran for 40 performances
• Very Good, Eddie London production opened at the Palace Theatre on May 18 and ran for 341 performances
• Where the Lark Sings by Franz Lehár

Births

• January 20 – Juan García Esquivel, Mexican bandleader (d. 2002)
• January 24 - Gottfried von Einem, composer (d. 1996)
• January 27
  • Skitch Henderson, bandleader (d. 2005)
  • Elmore James, blues musician (d. 1963)
• February 3 - Joey Bishop, all-round entertainer (d. 2007)
• February 15 - Hank Locklin, singer (d. 2009)
• February 16 - Patty Andrews of The Andrews Sisters singing group
• March 20 - Marian McPartland, British jazz pianist
• March 23 - Alberto Caracciolo, tango musician (d. 1994)
• March 29 - Pearl Bailey, singer (d. 1990)
• April 3 - Sixten Ehrling, conductor (d. 2005)
• April 25 - Astrid Varnay, operatic soprano (d. 2006)
• May 15 - Eddy Arnold, country singer (d. 2008)
• May 17 - Birgit Nilsson, operatic soprano (d. 2005)
• June 4 - Noel Estrada, composer (d. 1979)
• June 8 - Robert Preston, star of musicals (d. 1987)
• June 10 - Patachou, French singer
• June 26 - Roger Voisin, trumpeter (d. 2008)
• July 5 - George Rochberg, composer (d. 2005)
• July 6 - Eugene List, classical pianist (d. 1985)
• July 24 - Ruggiero Ricci, violinist
• July 27 - Leonard Rose, cellist (d. 1984)
• August 18 - Cisco Houston, folk singer (d. 1961)
• August 25 - Leonard Bernstein, composer (d. 1990)
• August 31 - Alan Jay Lerner, US lyricist (d. 1986)
• September 22 - Henryk Szeryng, violinist (d. 1988)
• September 23 - Lola Graham, pianist (d. 1992)
• September 26 - John Zacherle, actor and singer
• October 11 - Jerome Robbins, choreographer (d. 1998)
• October 14 - Ellen Faull, operatic soprano (d. 2008)
• October 16 - Géori Boué, operatic soprano
• October 17 - Rita Hayworth, actress, dancer and singer (d. 1987)
• November 20 - Tibor Frešo, composer (d. 1987)
• December 12 - Joe Williams, jazz singer (d. 1999)
• December 19 - Professor Longhair, blues singer and pianist (d. 1980)
• December 23 - José Greco, flamenco dancer and choreographer (d. 2000)

Deaths

• January 19 - Juan José Cañas, co-writer of the El Salvador national anthem (b. 1826)
• February 7 - Alexander Taneyev, composer (b. 1850)
• February 15 - Miguel Marqués - Spanish composer and violinist (b. 1843)
• March 1 - Emil Sjögren, composer (b. 1853)
• March (12-15) - José White Lafitte, violinist and composer (b. 1836)
• March 13 - César Cui, music critic and composer (b. 1835)
• March 15 - Lili Boulanger, composer (b. 1893)
• March 23 - Théo Ysaÿe, pianist and composer (b. 1865)
• March 25 - Claude Debussy, composer (b. 1862)
• April 13 - David Ffrangcon Davies, operatic baritone (b. 1855)
• April 21 - Antonio Pini-Corsi, operatic baritone (b. 1859)
• May 5 - Bertha Palmer, writer and musician
• May 18 - Toivo Kuula, conductor and composer (b. 1883) (accidentally shot)
• May 22 - Fritz Seitz, violinist and composer (b. 1848)
• June 9 - Jozsef Angster, master organ maker (b. 1834)
• June 10 - Arrigo Boito, writer and composer (b. 1842)
• August 12 - Anna Held, singer (b. 1872)
• August 15 - Heinrich Köselitz, author and composer (b. 1854)
• August 26 - Cecil Coles, composer (b. 1888) (killed in action)
• September 7 - Morfydd Llwyn Owen, singer, pianist and composer (b. 1891) (appendicitis)
• September 19 - Liza Lehmann, operatic soprano (b. 1862)
• October 7 - Hubert Parry, composer (b. 1848)
• October 15 - Antonio Cotogni, operatic baritone (b. 1831)
• October 16 - Felix Arndt, pianist & composer (b. 1889)
• October 22 - Charles Peccatte, archetier (b. 1850)
• October 24
  • Charles Lecocq, composer (b. 1832)
  • Marianne Scharwenka, violinist (b. 1856)
• October 29 - Rudolf Tobias, organist and composer (b. 1873)
• November 4 - Joaquín Valverde Sanjuán, zarzuela composer (b. 1875)
• date unknown - King Watzke, violinist and bandleader (b. c. 1880)

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