1944 in music

Singer Bing Crosby performing in London, 1944

Events

• January 18 - The Metropolitan Opera House in New York City for the first time hosts a jazz concert; the performers are Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton, Artie Shaw, Roy Eldridge and Jack Teagarden.
• January 20 - Paul Hindemith's Symphonic Metamorphoses on Themes of Weber is premiered in New York City.
• February - The Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra loses its concert hall in an Allied air raid.
• July 28 - Sir Henry Wood, aged 75, conducts his last Promenade Concert.
• August 19 - Italian singers Lucia Mannucci and Virgilio Savona get married.
• October 18 - Orville "Hoppy" Jones, bass singer of the Ink Spots, dies in New York City.
• December 1 - Béla Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra is premiered in Boston, Massachusetts by the Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by Serge Koussevitzky
• December 15 - Glenn Miller is reported missing. The official explanation is that his plane went down somewhere over the English Channel, although many alternate theories have been suggested.
• Flo Sandon's makes her stage debut, singing in a charity show.
• Jo Stafford launches her solo career.
• Frankie Laine cuts his first singles for the Beltone and Atlas labels.

Albums released

• The Wayfaring Stranger - Burl Ives
• Going My Way - Bing Crosby
• Boogie Woogie In Blue - Harry "The Hipster" Gibson

Biggest hit songs

The following songs achieved the highest chart positions in the limited set of charts available for 1944.

#	Artist	Title	Year	Country	Chart Entries
1	Bing Crosby	Swinging On a Star	1944		US 1940s 1 - Jun 1944, US 1 for 9 weeks Aug 1944, Oscar in 1944, US BB 3 of 1944, POP 3 of 1944, Europe 14 of the 1940s, AFI 37, RYM 44 of 1944, Acclaimed 1619
2	Bing Crosby & The Andrews Sisters	Don't Fence Me In	1944		US 1940s 1 - Nov 1944, US 1 for 8 weeks Dec 1944, US BB 4 of 1944, Europe 5 of the 1940s, POP 9 of 1944, Acclaimed 1699
3	Bing Crosby	I'll Be Seeing You	1944		US 1940s 1 - May 1944, US 1 for 4 weeks Jul 1944, US BB 15 of 1944, Europe 15 of the 1940s, POP 15 of 1944, RYM 43 of 1944
4	Bing Crosby	I Love You	1944		US 1940s 1 - Apr 1944, US 1 for 5 weeks May 1944, US BB 19 of 1944, Europe 21 of the 1940s, POP 23 of 1944, RYM 43 of 1944
5	Ella Fitzgerald & The Ink Spots	I'm Making Believe	1944		US 1940s 1 - Nov 1944, US 1 for 2 weeks Dec 1944, US BB 14 of 1944, POP 14 of 1944, RYM 23 of 1944

Top hit records

• "Amor" recorded by
  • Andy Russell
  • Bing Crosby
• "And Her Tears Flowed Like Wine" by Stan Kenton
• "Artistry In Rhythm" by Stan Kenton
• "Besame Mucho" performed by
  • Jimmy Dorsey
  • Andy Russell
• "Cherry" by Harry James
• "D-Day" by Nat King Cole
• "Do Nothin' Till You Hear From Me" by Duke Ellington
• "Don't Fence Me In" by Bing Crosby & the Andrews Sisters
• "Don't Sweetheart Me" by Lawrence Welk
• "First Class Private Mary Brown" by Perry Como
• "G.I. Jive" by Louis Jordan
• "Goodnight Irene" by Leadbelly
• "A Hot Time In the Town of Berlin" by Bing Crosby & the Andrews Sisters
• "I Love You" performed by
  • Bing Crosby
  • Perry Como
• "I'll Be Seeing You" by Bing Crosby
• "I'll Get By" by Harry James
• "Long Ago" performed by
  • Dick Haymes and Helen Forrest
  • Bing Crosby
  • Jo Stafford
  • Perry Como
• "Is You Is or Is You Ain't" by The Andrews Sisters
• "It Could Happen To You" by Jo Stafford
• "It Had To Be You" by Dick Haymes and Helen Forrest
• "It's Love-Love-Love" by Guy Lombardo
• "Mairzy Doats" by Merry Macs
• "My Heart Tells Me" by the Casa Loma Orchestra
• "San Fernando Valley" by Bing Crosby
• "Saturday Night (Is the Loneliest Night of the Week)" by Frank Sinatra
• "Shoo-Shoo Baby" by The Andrews Sisters
• "Speak Low" by Guy Lombardo
• "Straighten Up and Fly Right" by Nat King Cole
• "Swinging on a Star" by Bing Crosby
• "(There'll Be A) Hot Time in the Town of Berlin" by The Andrews Sisters
• "The Trolley Song" by Judy Garland
• "Time Waits For No One" by Helen Forrest
• "You Always Hurt the One You Love" by The Mills Brothers

Published popular music

• "Ac-cent-tchu-ate The Positive" w. Johnny Mercer m. Harold Arlen
• "All of a Sudden My Heart Sings" w. (Eng) Harold Rome (Fr) Jean Marie Blanvillain m. Herpin
• "And Her Tears Flowed Like Wine" w. Joe Greene m. Stan Kenton & Charles Lawrence
• "Bell Bottom Trousers" w.m. Moe Jaffe
• "The Boy Next Door" w.m. Hugh Martin & Ralph Blane
• "Candy" w. Mack David & Joan Whitney m. Alex Kramer
• "Can't Help Singing" w. E. Y. Harburg m. Jerome Kern
• "Dance with a Dolly" w.m. Terry Shand, Jimmy Van Eaton & David Kapp
• "Don't Fence Me In" w.m. Cole Porter
• "Dream" w.m. Johnny Mercer
• "Fine Brown Frame" w.m. Guadalupe Cartiero & J. Mayo Williams
• "First Class Private Mary Brown" w.m. Frank Loesser
• "G. I. Jive" w.m. Johnny Mercer
• "Going My Way" w. Johnny Burke m. James Van Heusen
• "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" w.m. Hugh Martin & Ralph Blane
• "A Hot Time in the Town Of Berlin" w. John De Vries m. Joe Bushkin
• "How Blue the Night" w. Harold Adamson m. Jimmy McHugh
• "How Little We Know" w. Johnny Mercer m. Hoagy Carmichael
• "I Begged Her" w. Sammy Cahn m. Jule Styne
• "I Didn't Know About You" w. Bob Russell m. Duke Ellington
• "I Dream of You (More Than You Dream I Do)" w.m. Marjorie Goetschius & Edna Osser
• "I Fall in Love Too Easily" w. Sammy Cahn m. Jule Styne
• "I Love You" w.m. Cole Porter
• "I'll Walk Alone" w. Sammy Cahn m. Jule Styne
• "I'm Beginning to See the Light" w.m. Duke Ellington, Don George, Johnny Hodges & Harry James
• "I'm Making Believe" w. Mack Gordon m. James V. Monaco
• "Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall" w.m. Allan Roberts & Doris Fisher
• "It Could Happen to You" w. Johnny Burke m. James Van Heusen. Introduced by Dorothy Lamour and Fred MacMurray in the film And the Angels Sing
• "It's Love, Love, Love" w. Mack David m. Alex Kramer & Joan Whitney
• "Jealous Heart" w.m. Jenny Lou Carson
• "Keep a Sunbeam in Your Pocket" w.m. V. Guest & M. Sherwin from the film Bees in Paradise
• "Leave the Dishes in the Sink, Ma" w.m. Milton Berle, Gene Doyle & Spike Jones
• "Like Someone in Love" w. Johnny Burke m. James Van Heusen. Introduced by Dinah Shore in the film Belle of the Yukon.
• "A Little on the Lonely Side" w.m. Dick Robertson, Frank Weldon & James Cavanaugh
• "Long Ago (and Far Away)" w. Ira Gershwin m. Jerome Kern. Introduced by Martha Mears dubbing for Rita Hayworth in the film Cover Girl
• "Milkman, Keep Those Bottles Quiet" w.m. Don Raye & Gene De Paul
• "More and More" w. E. Y. Harburg m. Jerome Kern From the Universal film Can't Help Singing
• "My Dreams Are Getting Better All The Time" w. Mann Curtis m. Vic Mizzy
• "Nancy (With the Laughing Face)" w. Phil Silvers m. James Van Heusen
• "New York, New York" w. Betty Comden & Adolph Green m. Leonard Bernstein
• "Now I Know" w. Ted Koehler m. Harold Arlen
• "On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe" w. Johnny Mercer m. Harry Warren
• "One Meat Ball" w. Hy Zaret m. Lou Singer
• "Please Don't Say No" w. Ralph Freed m. Sammy Fain from the film Thrill of a Romance
• "Put It There Pal" w. Johnny Burke m. James Van Heusen
• "Rum and Coca-Cola" w.m. Morey Amsterdam, Paul Baron & Jeri Sullivan
• "Saturday Night" w. Sammy Cahn m. Jule Styne
• "Sentimental Journey" w. Bud Green m. Les Brown & Ben Homer
• "Sleighride in July" w. Johnny Burke m. James Van Heusen. Introduced by Dinah Shore in the film Belle of the Yukon.
• "Someday (You'll Want Me to Want You)" w.m. Jimmie Hodges
• "Spring Will Be a Little Late This Year" w.m. Frank Loesser
• "Stella by Starlight" w. Ned Washington m. Victor Young
• "Swinging on a Star" w. Johnny Burke m. James Van Heusen
• "There Goes That Song Again" w. Sammy Cahn m. Jule Styne
• "There's A Fellow Waiting In Poughkeepsie" w. Johnny Mercer m. Harold Arlen
• "There's No You" w. Tom Adair m. Hal Hopper
• "This Heart of Mine" w. Arthur Freed m. Harry Warren
• "Till Then" w.m. Eddie Seiler, Sol Marcus & Guy Wood
• "Twilight Time" w.m. Buck Ram, Mortie Nevins & Artie Dunn
• "Umbriago" w.m. Irving Caesar & Jimmy Durante
• "You Always Hurt the One You Love" w.m. Allan Roberts & Doris Fisher
• "You Belong To My Heart" w. (Eng) Ray Gilbert m. Agustín Lara
• "You Can't Get That No More" w.m. Louis Jordan & Sam Theard
• "You're Nobody Till Somebody Loves You" w.m. Russ Morgan, Larry Stock & James Cavanaugh

Classical music

• George Antheil - Symphony No 4
• Leonard Bernstein - Fancy Free (ballet)
• Aaron Copland - Appalachian Spring (ballet)
• George Crumb - Two Duos for flute and clarinet
• David Diamond - Rounds
• John Fernström - Symphony No. 10
• Vivian Fine - ''Concertante for Piano and Orchestra
• Gerald Finzi - Farewell to Arms
• Cecil Armstrong Gibbs - Westmoreland Symphony
• Camargo Guarnieri - String Quartet No. 2
• Vagn Holmboe - Symphony No. 4
• Joseph Jongen - Concerto for Harp No. 1
• Zoltán Kodály - Missa Brevis
• Frank Martin - Petite symphonie concertante
• Darius Milhaud - Suite française
• Dmitri Shostakovich - Trio for violin, cello and piano No. 2 E minor, Op. 67; String Quartet No.2 in A major, Op. 68
• Michael Tippett - A Child of our Time
• Heitor Villa-Lobos - Symphony No. 6 - Montanhas do Brasil (The Mountains of Brazil)
• Grace Williams - Sea Sketches

Opera

• Sergei Prokofiev - War and Peace

Musical theater

• Bloomer Girl Broadway production opened at the Shubert Theatre on October 5 and ran for 654 performances.
• Follow The Girls Broadway production opened at the New Century Theatre on April 8 and ran for 882 performances.
• Mexican Hayride Broadway production opened at the Winter Garden Theatre on January 28 and transferred to the Majestic Theatre on December 18 for a total run of 481 performances
• A Night In Venice (Johann Strauss II London production opened at the Cambridge Theatre on May 25
• On the Town (Leonard Bernstein, Betty Comden and Adolph Green) - Broadway production opened at the Adelphi Theatre (New York) on December 28, transferred to the 44th Street Theatre on June 4, 1945 and transferred to the Martin Beck Theatre on July 30, 1945 for a total run of 462 performances.
• Seven Lively Arts Broadway production opened at the Ziegfeld Theatre on December 7 and ran for 183 performances
• Song Of Norway Broadway production opened at the Imperial Theatre on August 21 and transferred to the Broadway Theatre on April 15, 1946 for a total run of 860 performances
• Sweeter And Lower London production

Musical films

• Allergic to Love starring Noah Beery Jr., Martha O'Driscoll, David Bruce, Franklin Pangborn and Maxie Rosenbloom. Directed by Edward Lilley.
• And the Angels Sing starring Dorothy Lamour, Fred MacMurray and Betty Hutton. Directed by Claude Binyon.
• Babes on Swing Street starring Ann Blyth, Peggy Ryan and Andy Devine and featuring Marion Hutton and Freddie Slack & his Orchestra. Directed by Edward Lilley.
• Bees in Paradise released March 20 starring Arthur Askey, Anne Shelton, Ronald Shiner and Jean Kent
• Belle of the Yukon starring Randolph Scott, Gypsy Rose Lee, Dinah Shore and Bob Burns.
• Can't Help Singing starring Deanna Durbin, Robert Paige and Akim Tamiroff
• Carolina Blues starring Ann Miller and Kay Kyser & his band
• Champagne Charlie starring Tommy Trinder
• Cover Girl starring Rita Hayworth, Gene Kelly, Phil Silvers, Lee Bowman, Jinx Falkenburg, Otto Kruger and Eve Arden. Directed by Charles Vidor.
• Here Come the Waves starring Bing Crosby, Betty Hutton and Sonny Tufts.
• Hey, Rookie starring Ann Miller and Larry Parks
• Hollywood Canteen starring Jack Benny, Eddie Cantor, Joan Crawford, Bette Davis, Roy Rogers, Barbara Stanwyck and Jane Wyman and featuring The Andrews Sisters, Jimmy Dorsey & his Orchestra and Carmen Cavallaro & his Orchestra. Directed by Delmer Daves.
• Jam Session starring Ann Miller and featuring Louis Armstrong & his Orchestra, Alvino Rey & his Orchestra and Charlie Barnet & his Orchestra
• Knickerbocker Holiday starring Nelson Eddy and Charles Coburn
• Lady In The Dark starring Ginger Rogers and Ray Milland
• Lost in a Harem starring Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Marilyn Maxwell and John Conte, and featuring Jimmy Dorsey & his Orchestra. Directed by Charles Reisner.
• Meet Me in St. Louis starring Judy Garland, Mary Astor, Tom Drake, Lucille Bremer and Margaret O'Brien. Directed by Vincente Minnelli.
• Meet Miss Bobby Sox starring Bob Crosby, Lynn Merrick and Louise Erickson and featuring Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five. Directed by Glenn Tryon.
• The Merry Monahans starring Donald O'Connor, Peggy Ryan, Jack Oakie, Rosemary DeCamp, Ann Blyth and Isabel Jewell
• Minstrel Man starring Benny Fields and Gladys George
• One Exciting Night starring Vera Lynn
• Pardon My Rhythm starring Gloria Jean, Patric Knowles and Mel Torme and featuring Bob Crosby & his Orchestra. Directed by Felix E. Feist.
• Rainbow Island starring Dorothy Lamour and Eddie Bracken
• Shine on Harvest Moon starring Ann Sheridan, Dennis Morgan and Jack Carson.
• Something for the Boys released November 1 starring Carmen Miranda, Phil Silvers, Vivian Blaine and Perry Como.
• Step Lively starring Frank Sinatra, Gloria DeHaven, George Murphy and Anne Jeffreys.
• Sweet and Low-Down starring Benny Goodman & his Orchestra, Linda Darnell, Jack Oakie and Lynn Bari
• Swing in the Saddle starring Jane Frazee, The Hoosier Hot Shots, Cousin Emmy and featuring The King Cole Trio and Jimmy Wakely & his Oklahoma Cowboys
• Take It Big starring Jack Haley, Harriet Hilliard, Mary Beth Hughes and Richard Lane and featuring Ozzie Nelson & his Orchestra. Directed by Frank McDonald.
• Time Flies starring Tommy Handley and Evelyn Dall
• Two Girls and a Sailor starring June Allyson, Gloria DeHaven and Van Johnson
• You Can't Ration Love starring Betty Jane Rhodes and Johnny Johnston. Directed by Lester Fuller.

Births

• January 6 - Alan Stivell, folk musician
• January 9
  • Scott Walker, singer
  • Jimmy Page, guitarist (Led Zeppelin)
• January 10 - Frank Sinatra, Jr., singer
• January 16 - Jim Stafford, singer-songwriter and musician
• January 17 - Françoise Hardy, singer
• January 19 - Shelley Fabares, actress and singer
• January 28 - John Tavener, composer
• February 2 - Andrew Davis, conductor
• February 3 - Trisha Noble, singer and actress
• February 5 - Al Kooper, musician, songwriter and record producer (Blood, Sweat & Tears)
• February 10 - Clifford T. Ward, singer-songwriter (d. 2001)
• February 15 - Mick Avory, drummer (The Kinks)
• February 17 - Karl Jenkins, composer
• February 20 - Lew Soloff, jazz trumpeter, composer and actor Blood, Sweat & Tears
• February 23
  • Johnny Winter, blues guitarist, singer and producer
  • Mike Maxfield, guitarist (Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas)
• February 24
  • Paul Jones, R&B singer, actor and broadcaster
  • Nicky Hopkins, keyboard player and session musician (d. 1994)
• March 1
  • Mike d'Abo, vocalist (Manfred Mann)
  • Roger Daltrey, vocalist (The Who)
• March 4 - Bobby Womack, singer-songwriter
• March 6 - Mary Wilson (The Supremes)
• March 9 - Mark Lindsay, vocalist (Paul Revere & the Raiders)
• March 15 - Sly Stone, singer, songwriter, musician and record producer
• March 17
  • John Sebastian, songwriter and harmonica player (The Lovin' Spoonful)
  • John Lill, pianist
  • Pattie Boyd, ex-wife and muse of both George Harrison and Eric Clapton
• March 22 - Jeremy Clyde, actor and singer (Chad & Jeremy)
• March 23 - Michael Nyman, composer
• March 26 - Diana Ross, singer
• March 29 – Terry Jacks, singer/songwriter, producer, environmentalist
• April 3 - Tony Orlando, singer
• April 5 - Crispian St. Peters, singer (d. 2010)
• April 6
  • Michelle Phillips, actress and vocalist (The Mamas & the Papas)
  • Felicity Palmer, operatic soprano
• April 12 - John Kay, singer, songwriter and guitarist (Steppenwolf)
• April 13 - Jack Casady, bass guitarist (Jefferson Airplane)
• April 15 - Dave Edmunds, rock singer and guitarist
• April 17 – Bobby Curtola, pop singer and teen idol
• April 18 - Skip Spence, singer-songwriter (Moby Grape) (d. 1999)
• May 1 - Rita Coolidge, singer
• May 9 - Richie Furay, country musician and singer (Buffalo Springfield)
• May 12 - James Purify, singer
• May 14 - Gene Cornish, guitarist (The Rascals)
• May 17 - Jesse Winchester, musician and songwriter
• May 20
  • Joe Cocker, British singer
  • Boudewijn de Groot, Dutch singer
• May 21 - Marcie Blane, singer
• May 24 - Patti LaBelle, singer
• May 28
  • Billy Vera, singer, actor and writer
  • Gladys Knight, singer
• May 31 - Mick Ralphs, guitarist and songwriter (Mott the Hoople)
• June 2 - Marvin Hamlisch, songwriter and composer
• June 6 - Edgar Froese, electronic music pioneer (Tangerine Dream)
• June 7 - Clarence White, guitarist (The Byrds), (Nashville West) (d. 1973)
• June 8 - Boz Scaggs, singer-songwriter
• June 17 - Chris Spedding, guitarist and songwriter
• June 21 - Ray Davies, singer-songwriter (The Kinks)
• June 22 - Peter Asher, singer and record producer (Peter & Gordon)
• June 23 - Rosetta Hightower, singer
• June 24:
  • Chris Wood, rock musician (Traffic) (d. 1983)
  • Jeff Beck, guitarist
  • Arthur Brown, singer (The Crazy World of Arthur Brown)
• June 27 - Bruce Johnston (The Beach Boys)
• June 30 - Glenn Shorrock, singer and songwriter (Little River Band)
• July 8
  • Michael Johnson, singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • Jai Johanny Johanson, drummer (The Allman Brothers Band)
• July 22
  • Estelle Bennett (The Ronettes)
  • Rick Davies, keyboardist (Supertramp)
• July 25 - Jim McCarty, drummer (The Yardbirds, Renaissance)
• July 27 - Bobbie Gentry, singer-songwriter
• July 28 - Mike Bloomfield, musicianm, guitarist and composer (d. 1981)
• August 2 - Jim Capaldi, drummer, singer and songwriter (Traffic) (d. 2005)
• August 3 - Nino Bravo, singer (d. 1973)
• August 12 - Larry Troutman, R&B musician (Zapp) (d.1999)
• August 18 - Carl Wayne, vocalist (The Move) (d. 2004)
• August 19 - Eddy Raven, country musician
• August 21 - Jackie DeShannon, singer-songwriter
• August 27
  • Tim Bogert, bass guitarist (Vanilla Fudge)
  • Cuba Gooding, Sr., vocalist (Main Ingredient)
• September 1
  • Archie Bell, R&B singer-songwriter (The Drells)
  • Leonard Slatkin, conductor (Detroit Symphony Orchestra)
• September 3 - Gary Leeds (The Walker Brothers)
• September 12 - Barry White, soul singer-songwriter and record producer (d. 2003)
• September 13 - Peter Cetera, vocalist (Chicago)
• September 16
  • Winston Grennan, drummer
  • Betty Kelley (Martha and the Vandellas)
• September 23 - Ivan Martin Jirous, poet and musician (The Plastic People of the Universe)
• September 29
  • Tommy Boyce, songwriter (d. 1994)
  • Mike Post, TV theme composer
• September 30 - Marilyn McCoo, singer (The 5th Dimension)
• October 1 - Barbara Parritt, (The Toys)
• October 4
  • Nona Hendryx, singer, songwriter, author and actress
  • Marlena Davis (The Orlons)
• October 9
  • John Entwistle, bassist (The Who) (d. 2002)
  • Peter Tosh, reggae musician (d. 1987)
• October 13 - Robert Lamm, keyboardist, singer and songwriter (Chicago)
• October 16 - Patsy Watchorn, folk musician
• October 24
  • Ted Templeman, record producer
  • Bettye Swann, soul singer
• October 25 - Jon Anderson, vocalist of Yes
• October 26 - Jim McCann, folk musician
• October 29 - Denny Laine, guitarist and singer (The Moody Blues, Wings)
• November 2 - Keith Emerson, keyboardist and composer (Emerson, Lake & Palmer)
• November 8 - Bonnie Bramlett, singer (Delaney & Bonnie)
• November 10 - Sir Tim Rice, lyricist
• November 12 - Booker T. Jones, musician, record producer, composer and arranger
• November 17 - Gene Clark, singer-songwriter (The Byrds) (d. 1991)
• November 21 - Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor
• November 26 - Jean Terrell, singer
• November 28 - R. B. Greaves, singer
• December 1 - John Densmore (The Doors)
• December 4 - Dennis Wilson (The Beach Boys) (d. 1983)
• December 6 - Jonathan King, singer, songwriter and record producer
• December 7 - Daniel Chorzempa, organist
• December 9
  • Neil Innes, singer-songwriter and comedian
  • Shirley Brickley (The Orlons)
• December 11 - Brenda Lee, singer
• December 12 - Rob Tyner (MC5)
• December 13 - Marti Webb, singer
• December 19
  • Alvin Lee, guitarist and singer (Ten Years After)
  • Zal Yanovsky, guitarist and singer (The Lovin' Spoonful) (d. 2002)
  • William Christie, harpsichordist and conductor
• December 20 - Bobby Colomby, drummer (Blood, Sweat & Tears)
• December 21 - Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor
• December 22 - Barry Jenkins, drummer (The Animals)
• December 25 - Henry Vestine, guitarist (Canned Heat) (d. 1997)
• December 27 - Mick Jones, guitarist, songwriter and record producer (Foreigner)

Deaths

• January 9 - Johanna Beyer, pianist and composer (b. 1888)
• January 29 - Carl Aeschbacher, choirmaster and composer (b. 1886)
• February 4 - Yvette Guilbert, cabaret singer and actress (b. 1865)
• February 7 - Lina Cavalieri, opera singer (b. 1874)
• April 4 - Alma Rosé, violinist and composer (b. 1906) (food poisoning or typhoid at Auschwitz concentration camp)
• April 13 - Cecile Chaminade, pianist (b. 1857)
• April 19 - Jimmie Noone, jazz musician (b. 1895)
• April 23 - Marion Harris, jazz singer (b. 1857) (hotel fire)
• May 9 - Dame Ethel Smyth, composer (b. 1858)
• May 16 - Leone Sinigaglia, composer (b. 1868)
• May 20 - Vincent Rose, Italian-born US bandleader and composer
• June 2 - Zikmund Schul, composer (b. 1916) (tuberculosis)
• June 5 - Riccardo Zandonai, opera composer (b. 1883)
• June 10 - Sylvio Lazzari, composer (b. 1857)
• June 25 - Lucha Reyes (Mexican singer) (b. 1906) (suicide)
• July 4 - Alice Burville, singer and actress (b. 1856)
• July 14 - Asmahan, Syrian singer and actress (b. 1912) (drowned)
• July 19 - Will Marion Cook, violinist and composer (b. 1869)
• August 1 - Cecil Mack, songwriter and music publisher (b. 1883)
• August 7 - Agustin Barrios, composer (b. 1885)
• August 8 - Aino Ackté, operatic soprano (b. 1876)
• August 12 - James Simon, pianist, composer and musicologist (b. 1880) (killed at Auschwitz concentration camp)
• August 19 - Sir Henry Wood, conductor (b. 1869)
• October 1 - Carlo Sigmund Taube, pianist, conductor and composer (b. 1897) (killed at Auschwitz concentration camp)
• October 16 - Hans Krása, Czech-German composer (b. 1899) (gassed in Auschwitz)
• November 14 - Carl Flesch, violinist (b. 1873)
• November 26 - Florence Foster Jenkins, soprano famous for her lack of musical ability (b. 1868)
• November 27 - Margarete Dessoff, conductor, singer and voice teacher (b. 1874)
• November 30 - Antoine Mariotte, conductor and composer (b. 1875)
• December 2 - Josef Lhévinne, pianist (b. 1874)
• December 15 - Glenn Miller, trombonist, composer and bandleader (b. 1904) (missing in action)
• December 27 - Amy Beach, composer and pianist (b. 1867)
• date unknown - Lalla Miranda, coloratura soprano (b. 1874)