1930 in music

Events

• February 16 - Nicholas Slonimsky premieres Charles Ives's Three Places in New England.
• August 24 - Festival Puccini is launched at Torre del Lago.
• December 10 - First performance of Bertolt Brecht's play The Decision, with music by Hanns Eisler.
• The BBC Symphony Orchestra is formed.
• Frankie Laine sings to an audience of 5,000 at The Merry Garden Ballroom.
• Bukka White makes his first recording.
• perfecer plum finishes double bass conservatory study and begins performing.

Published popular songs

• "Across The Breakfast Table" w.m. Irving Berlin
• "All I Want Is Just One Girl" w. Leo Robin m. Richard A. Whiting
• "Any Little Fish" w.m. Noël Coward
• "A Bench in the Park" w. Jack Yellen m. Milton Ager
• "Betty Co-Ed" w.m. J. Paul Fogarty & Rudy Vallee
• "Beyond the Blue Horizon" w. Leo Robin m. Richard A. Whiting & W. Franke Harling. Introduced by Jeanette MacDonald in the film Monte Carlo.
• "Bidin' My Time" w. Ira Gershwin m. George Gershwin
• "Blue Again" w. Dorothy Fields m. Jimmy McHugh. Introduced by Evelyn Hoey in The Vanderbilt Revue.
• "Blue, Turning Grey Over You" w. Andy Razaf m. Thomas "Fats" Waller
• "Body and Soul" w. Robert Sour, Edward Heyman & Frank Eyton m. Johnny Green
• "Boy! What Love Has Done To Me!" w. Ira Gershwin m. George Gershwin
• "But Not For Me" w. Ira Gershwin m. George Gershwin
• "By the Sleepy Lagoon" (aka "Sleepy Lagoon") m. Eric Coates (lyrics by Jack Lawrence added in 1940)
• "Bye Bye Blues" w.m. Bert Lown, Chauncey Gray, Fred Hamm & Dave Bennett
• "Can This Be Love?" w. Paul James m. Kay Swift. Introduced by Alice Boulden in the musical Fine and Dandy.
• "Can't We Talk It Over?" w. Ned Washington m. Victor Young
• "Casa Loma Stomp" m. Eugene Gifford
• "Cheerful Little Earful" w. Ira Gershwin & Billy Rose m. Harry Warren
• "The Chum Song" Jack Hylton, Louis Freeman
• "Cooking Breakfast for the One I Love" w. Billy Rose m. Henry Tobias
• "A Cottage For Sale" w. Larry Conley m. Willard Robison
• "Dancing on the Ceiling" w. Lorenz Hart m. Richard Rodgers
• "Dancing with Tears in My Eyes" w. Al Dubin m. Joe Burke
• "Dangerous Nan McGrew" w. Dan Hartman m. Al Goodhart
• "Don't Tell Him What Happened To Me" w. B. G. De Sylva & Lew Brown m. Ray Henderson
• "Eleven More Months and Ten More Days" w.m. Arthur Fields & Fred Hall
• "Embraceable You" w. Ira Gershwin m. George Gershwin
• "Exactly Like You" w. Dorothy Fields m. Jimmy McHugh
• "Falling in Love Again" w. (Eng) Sammy Lerner m. Frederick Hollander
• "Fine and Dandy" w. Paul James (pseudonym for James Warburg) m. Kay Swift
• "For You" w. Al Dubin m. Joe Burke
• "Gee, But I'd Like To Make You Happy" w.m. Larry Shay, Ward & Montgomery
• "Georgia On My Mind" w. Stuart Gorrell m. Hoagy Carmichael
• "Get Happy" w. Ted Koehler m. Harold Arlen
• "Goofus" w. Gus Kahn m. Wayne King & William Harold
• "Happy Feet" w. Jack Yellen m. Milton Ager
• "I Am Only Human after All" w. Ira Gershwin & E. Y. Harburg m. Vernon Duke
• "I Bring a Love Song" w. Oscar Hammerstein II m. Sigmund Romberg from the musical film Viennese Nights
• "I Got Rhythm" w. Ira Gershwin m. George Gershwin
• "I Love You So Much" w. Bert Kalmar m. Harry Ruby
• "If Your Kisses Can't Hold the Man You Love" w. Jack Yellen m. Vivian Ellis
• "I'm Confessin' That I Love You" w. Al J. Neiburg m. Doc Daugherty & Ellis Reynolds
• "I'm Glad I Waited" w.m. Vincent Youmans
• "I'm In the Market for You" w. Joseph McCarthy m. James F. Hanley
• "I'm Thinking Tonight of My Blue Eyes" w.m. A. P. Carter
• "Into My Heart" w. Roy Turk m. Fred Ahlert. Introduced by Ramon Novarro in the film In Gay Madrid
• "It Happened In Monterey" w. Billy Rose m. Mabel Wayne
• "It Must Be True" w.m. Gus Arnheim, Harry Barris & Gordon Clifford
• "J'ai Deux Amours" w. Georges Koger & H. Varna m. Vincent Scotto
• "Just a Gigolo" w. (Eng) Irving Caesar (Ger) Julius Brammer m. Leonello Casucci
• "The Kiss Waltz" w. Al Dubin m. Joe Burke
• "Lady, Play Your Mandolin" w. Irving Caesar m. Oscar Levant
• "Lazy River" w.m. Hoagy Carmichael & Sidney Arodin
• "The Little Things in Life" w.m. Irving Berlin
• "Little White Lies" w.m. Walter Donaldson
• "Livin' In The Sunlight, Lovin' In The Moonlight" w. Al Lewis m. Al Sherman
• "Love for Sale" w.m. Cole Porter
• "Lucky Seven" w. Howard Dietz m. Arthur Schwartz
• "Memories of You" w. Andy Razaf m. Eubie Blake
• "Mule Skinner Blues" w.m. Jimmie Rodgers
• "My Future Just Passed" w. George Marion Jr m. Richard A. Whiting
• "Mysterious Mose" w.m. Walter Doyle
• "Nina Rosa" m. Irving Caesar
• "Nine Little Miles From Ten-Ten-Tennessee" w.m. Al Sherman & Al Lewis & Con Conrad
• "Ninety-Nine Out of a Hundred (Wanna Be Loved) w.m. Al Sherman & Al Lewis
• "On the Sunny Side of the Street" w. Dorothy Fields m. Jimmy McHugh
• "Our Don Bradman" w.m. Jack O'Hagan
• "Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone" w. Sidney Clare m. Sam H. Stept
• "A Porter's Love Song to a Chambermaid" w. Andy Razaf m. James P. Johnson
• "Rockin' In Rhythm" m. Duke Ellington & Irving Mills
• "Sam and Delilah" w. Ira Gershwin m. George Gershwin
• "Send for Me" w. Lorenz Hart m. Richard Rodgers
• "Shout, Sister, Shout" w.m. J. Tim Brymn, Alexander Hill & Clarence Williams
• "Sing, You Sinners" w.m. W. Franke Harling & Sam Coslow. Introduced by Lillian Roth in the film Honey
• "Someday I'll Find You" w.m. Noel Coward
• "Something to Remember You By" w. Howard Dietz m. Arthur Schwartz
• "The Song of the Dawn" w. Jack Yellen m. Milton Ager from the film King Of Jazz
• "Sweepin' the Clouds Away" w.m. Sam Coslow
• "Sweet Jennie Lee" w.m. Walter Donaldson
• "Telling it to the Daisies" w. Joe Young m. Harry Warren
• "Ten Cents a Dance" w. Lorenz Hart m. Richard Rodgers
• "Them There Eyes" w.m. Maceo Pinkard, William Tracey & Doris Tauber
• "They All Fall In Love" w.m. Cole Porter
• "They Cut Down The Old Pine Tree" w.m. Edward Eliscu, Billy Hill & Willie Raskin
• "Three Little Words" w. Bert Kalmar m. Harry Ruby
• "Time on My Hands" w. Harold Adamson & Mack Gordon m. Vincent Youmans
• "Two Loves Have I" w. (Eng) J. P. Murray & Barry Trivers m. Vincent Scotto
• "Walking My Baby Back Home" w.m. Roy Turk & Fred Ahlert
• "The Waltz You Saved For Me" w. Gus Kahn m. Wayne King & Emil Flindt
• "What Kind of Noise Annoys an Oyster" Frank Crumit, Curtis
• "When I'm Looking At You" w. Clifford Grey m. Herbert Stothart. Introduced by Lawrence Tibbett in the film The Rogue Song
• "When Your Hair Has Turned To Silver" w. Charles Tobias m. Peter De Rose
• "The White Dove" w. Clifford Grey m. Franz Lehár
• "Why Am I So Romantic?" w. Bert Kalmar m. Harry Ruby
• "Would You Like To Take A Walk?" w. Mort Dixon & Billy Rose m. Harry Warren
• "You Brought a New Kind of Love to Me" w.m. Sammy Fain, Irving Kahal & Pierre Norman
• "You Will Remember Vienna" w. Oscar Hammerstein II m. Sigmund Romberg
• "You're Driving Me Crazy" w.m. Walter Donaldson

Biggest hit songs

The following songs achieved the highest chart positions in the limited set of charts available for 1930.

#	Artist	Title	Year	Country	Chart Entries
1	Ben Selvin	Happy Days Are Here Again	1930		US BB 1 of 1930, POP 1 of 1930, RIAA 47, RYM 110 of 1930
2	Harry Richman	Puttin' on the Ritz	1930		US BB 2 of 1930, POP 2 of 1930, RIAA 117, Acclaimed 1213
3	Fred Astaire	Puttin' on the Ritz	1930		RYM 1 of 1930, Peel list 2 of 1930
4	Ruth Etting	Ten Cents a Dance	1930		US BB 5 of 1930, POP 5 of 1930, RYM 28 of 1930
5	Duke Ellington	Three Little Words	1930		US BB 6 of 1930, POP 6 of 1930, RYM 15 of 1930

Top hits on record

• "Amos 'n Andy" by Billy Murray and Walter Scanlan
• "Beyond the Blue Horizon" by George Olsen & His Music
• "Body and Soul" by Paul Whiteman & His Orchestra
• "Betty Coed" by Rudy Vallee
• "A Brown Bird Singing" by Webster Booth
• "Crazy Feet" by Fred Astaire
• "Dancing With Tears In My Eyes" by The Nat Shilkret Orchestra
• "Dream Lover" by Gracie Fields
• "Embraceable You" by Red Nichols & His Five Pennies
• "Happy Days Are Here Again" by Benny Meroff & His Band
• "If I Had A Talking Picture Of You" by Jack Hylton
• "I'm Confessin' (That I Love You)" by Guy Lombardo & His Royal Canadians
• "I'm One Of The Queens Of England" by Douglas Byng
• "I Remember Dear" by Bing Crosby
• "It Happened In Monterey (In Old Mexico)" by Paul Whiteman & His Orchestra
• "Little White Lies" by Fred Waring and His Pennsylvanians
• "The Lonesome Road" by Paul Robeson
• "March Of The Musketeers" by Paul Whiteman
• "Nine Little Miles From Ten-Ten-Tennessee" by Duke Ellington
• "Ninety-Nine Out of a Hundred (Wanna Be Loved) by Rudy Vallee
• "On the Sunny Side Of the Street" by Ted Lewis & His Band
• "Oh, It's A Lovely War" by Jolly Old Fellows
• "A Perfect Day" by Paul Robeson
• "Private Lives" by Noel Coward and Gertrude Lawrence
• Puttin' On The Ritz by Fred Astaire
• "She's My Secret Passion" by Ambrose
• "The Jitterbug Waltz" by Fats Waller
• "The Stein Song" by Rudy Vallee
• "Ten Cents A Dance" by Ruth Etting
• "Terence's Farewell To Kathleen" by John McCormack
• "Three Little Words" by Paul Whiteman's Rhythm Boys with Duke Ellington & His Jungle Band
• "Valentine" by Maurice Chevalier
• "You're Driving Me Crazy (What Did I Do?)" by Guy Lombardo's Royal Canadians

Top blues records

• "Sitting on Top of the World" - Mississippi Sheiks
• "Preachin' Blues" - Son House
• "Clarksdale Moan" - Son House
• "Razor Ball" - Blind Willie McTell
• "Somebody's Been Using That Thing" - Big Bill Broonzy
• "Skoodle Do Do" - Big Bill Broonzy

Classical music

• William Alwyn - Piano Concerto No. 1
• Arthur Bliss - Morning Heroes (oratorio)
• Aaron Copland - Piano Variations
• Arthur De Greef - Piano Concerto no. 2
• Alexander Glazunov - String Quartet No. 7
• Reynaldo Hahn - Piano Concerto in E
• Howard Hanson - Symphony No. 2, "The Romantic"
• Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov - Turkish Fragments
• John Ireland - Piano Concerto in E flat and Legend for piano and orchestra
• Paul Juon - Quintet for Winds in B flat major
• Zoltán Kodály - Dances of Marosszék
• Igor Markevitch - Concerto Grosso
• Heitor Villa-Lobos - Bachiana brasileira no 1 for 8 Cellos
• Anton Webern - Quartet, opus 22

Opera

• Ralph Benatzky - Im weissen Rössl
• Leoš Janáček - From the House of the Dead
• Arnold Schoenberg - Von Heute auf Morgen (1 February 1930, Frankfurt)
• Kurt Weill - The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny

Musical theater

• Darling, I Love You London production openead at the Gaiety Theatre on January 22 and ran for 147 performances
• Eldorado London production opened at Daly's Theatre on September 3 and ran for 93 performances
• Ever Green London production opened at the Adelphi Theatre on December 3 and ran for 254 performances
• Fine and Dandy Broadway musical opened at the Erlanger's Theatre on September 23 and ran for 246 performances.
• Follow a Star London production opened at the Winter Garden Theatre on September 17 and ran for 118 performances
• Girl Crazy Broadway production opened at the Alvin Theatre on October 14 and ran for 272 performances
• Here Comes the Bride London production opened at the Piccadilly Theatre on February 20 and ran for 175 performances
• Das Land Des Lächelns Vienna production opened at the Theater an der Wien on September 26 and ran for 105 performances
• Little Tommy Tucker London production opened at Daly's Theatre on November 19 and ran for 83 performances
• The Love Race London production opened at the Gaiety Theatre on June 25 and ran for 237 performances
• The New Yorkers (Book by Herbert Fields, Lyrics & Music by Cole Porter) Broadway revue opened at the Broadway Theatre on December 8 and ran for 168 performances
• Nippy London production opened at the Prince Edward Theatre on October 30 and ran for 137 performances
• Rio Rita London production opened at the Prince Edward Theatre on April 3 and ran for 59 performances
• The Second Little Show Broadway revue opened at the Royale Theatre on September 2 and ran for 63 performances
• Silver Wings London production opened at the Dominion Theatre on February 14 and ran for 120 performances
• Sons o' Guns London production opened at the Hippodrome on June 26 and ran for 211 performances
• Sweet and Low Broadway revue opened at Chanin's 46th Street Theatre on November 17 and ran for 184 performances
• The Three Musketeers London production opened at the Drury Lane Theatre on March 28 and ran for 240 performances
• Three's a Crowd Broadway revue opened at the Selwyn Theatre on October 15 and ran for 271 performances
• The Vanderbilt Revue Broadway revue opened at the Vanderbilt Theatre on November 5 and ran for 13 performances
• Viktoria und ihr Husar Vienna production opened at the Theater an der Wien on December 23 and ran for 121 performances
• Im Weissen Rössl aka White Horse Inn - Ralph Benatzky. First performed at the Grosses Schauspielhaus in Berlin on November 8.
• Wonder Bar London production opened at the Savoy Theatre on December 5 and ran for 210 performances

Musical films

• Along Came Youth starring Charles "Buddy" Rogers, Frances Dee and Stuart Erwin. Directed by Lloyd Corrigan and Norman McLeod.
• Animal Crackers starring The Marx Brothers, Lillian Roth and Margaret Dumont. Directed by Victor Heerman.
• Be Yourself! starring Fanny Brice, Harry Green and Robert Armstrong. Directed by Thornton Freeland.
• Big Boy starring Al Jolson and Claudia Dell. Directed by Alan Crosland.
• Bright Lights starring Dorothy Mackaill, Frank Fay, Noah Beery, Inez Courtney and Eddie Nugent. Directed by Michael Curtiz.
• Chasing Rainbows starring Bessie Love, Charles King, Jack Benny and Marie Dressler
• Dancing Sweeties starring Grant Withers, Sue Carol and Edna Murphy
• Follow Thru starring Charles "Buddy" Rogers, Nancy Carroll, Zelma O'Neal, Jack Haley, Eugene Pallette and Thelma Todd
• Going Wild starring Joe E. Brown and Ona Munson
• Golden Dawn released on June 14 starring Walter Woolf King, Vivienne Segal, Noah Beery, Alice Gentle and Lupino Lane
• Good News starring Mary Lawlor, Stanley Smith, Bessie Love, Cliff Edwards, Gus Shy and Penny Singleton and featuring Abe Lyman & his Band
• Heads Up starring Charles "Buddy" Rogers and Helen Kane. Directed by Victor Schertzinger.
• High Society Blues starring Janet Gaynor, Charles Farrell and Louise Fazenda
• Hit the Deck starring Jack Oakie, Polly Walker and June Clyde
• Honey starring Nancy Carroll, Stanley Smith, Lillian Roth and Mitzi Green
• In Gay Madrid starring Ramon Novarro and Dorothy Jordan
• King of Jazz starring Paul Whiteman and John Boles and featuring The Rhythm Boys and The Brox Sisters
• Let's Go Native starring Jack Oakie, Jeanette MacDonald and James Hall
• The Lottery Bride starring Jeanette MacDonald, Zasu Pitts, Robert Chisholm, Joe E. Brown and John Garrick. Directed by Paul L. Stein.
• Monte Carlo starring Jeanette MacDonald and Jack Buchanan. Directed by Ernst Lubitsch.
• New Moon starring Lawrence Tibbett and Grace Moore
• New Movietone Follies of 1930 starring El Brendel and Marjorie White
• No, No Nanette starring ZaSu Pitts, Louise Fazenda, Lilyan Tashman and Mildred Harris
• Paramount on Parade featuring Maurice Chevalier and Clara Bow
• Puttin' on the Ritz starring Harry Richman, Joan Bennett and James Gleason
• The Rogue Song released May 10 starring Lawrence Tibbett and Catherine Dale Owen and featuring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy
• Song o' My Heart released September 7 starring John McCormack.
• Spring Is Here starring Lawrence Gray, Alexander Gray, Bernice Claire, Inez Courtney, Frank Albertson and The Brox Sisters.
• Sunny starring Marilyn Miller, Lawrence Gray and Joe Donahue.
• Sunny Skies starring Benny Rubin, Marceline Day, Rex Lease and Marjorie Kane
• The Vagabond King starring Dennis King, Jeanette MacDonald and Lillian Roth
• Viennese Nights released November 26 starring Vivienne Segal, Alexander Gray, Jean Hersholt, Walter Pidgeon and Louise Fazenda.
• Whoopee! starring Eddie Cantor, Ethel Shutta and Paul Gregory, and featuring George Olsen & his Orchestra and Betty Grable
• Young Man of Manhattan starring Claudette Colbert, Ginger Rogers, Norman Foster and Charles Ruggles. Directed by Monta Bell.

Births

• January 12 - Glenn Yarbrough (The Limelighters)
• January 13 - Bobby Lester (The Moonglows)
• January 27 - Bobby Blue Bland, blues and soul singer
• February 26 - Chic Hetti (The Playmates)
• March 6 - Lorin Maazel, conductor
• March 13 - Jan Howard, country singer
• March 22 - Stephen Sondheim, composer and songwriter
• March 28 - Robert Ashley, composer
• March 29 - Donny Conn (The Playmates)
• April 16 - Herbie Mann, jazz musician (d. 2003)
• May 1 - Little Walter, blues musician (d. 1968)
• May 28 - Julian Slade, musical theatre writer (d. 2006)
• June 3 - Dakota Staton, jazz vocalist (d. 2007)
• June 9 - Monique Serf, singer ("Barbara") (d. 1997)
• July 16 - Guy Béart, singer and songwriter
• July 20 - Sally Ann Howes, English actress and singer
• August 1
  • Lionel Bart, English composer and lyricist (d. 1999)
  • Walter Jagiello, polka musician and songwriter (d. 2006)
• September 7 - Sonny Rollins, jazz saxophonist
• September 23 - Ray Charles, soul musician (d. 2004)
• October 8 - Tōru Takemitsu, composer (d. 1996)
• October 24 - The Big Bopper, DJ and singer (d. 1957)
• October 30 - Clifford Brown, jazz trumpeter (d. 1956)
• December 31 - Odetta, singer, songwriter and civil rights activist (d. 2008)

Deaths

• January 2 - Therese Malten, operatic soprano (b. 1855)
• January 16 - Art Hickman, US bandleader (born 1886)
• January 24 - Mario Sammarco, operatic baritone (b. 1868)
• January 28 - Emmy Destinn Czech opera singer (b. 1878)
• April 1 - Cosima Wagner, daughter of Franz Liszt and widow of Richard Wagner (b. 1837)
• April 3 - Emma Albani, operatic soprano (b. 1847)
• April 5 - Gene Greene, singer and composer ("The Ragtime King") (b. 1881)
• April 26 - Beth Slater Whitson, US lyric writer, 50
• May 1 - Emil Genetz, composer (b. 1852)
• June 22 - Mary Davies, singer (b. 1855)
• July 15 - Leopold Auer, violinist, conductor and composer (b. 1845)
• August 4 - Siegfried Wagner, composer and son of Richard Wagner (b. 1869)
• October 1 - Riccardo Drigo, composer and conductor (born 1846)
• October 14 - Henry Creamer, US songwriter (b. 1879)
• October 27 - Evan Stephens, Mormon composer and hymn-writer (b. 1854)
• November 13 - Thomas Bulch, musician and composer (b. 1862)
• December 17 - Peter Warlock, composer (b. 1894)
• December 22 - Charles K. Harris, US songwriter and publisher (b. 1867)
• December 23 - Marie Fillunger, singer (b. 1850)
• December 24 - Oskar Nedbal, violist, conductor and composer (b. 1874)
• December 29 - Oscar Borg, composer (b. 1851)
• date unknown
  • Johnny Burke, singer and songwriter (b. 1851)
  • Tivadar Nachéz, violinist and composer (b. 1859)