1927 in music

Events

* January 8 - Alban Berg's "Lyric Suite" is premiered in Vienna.
* July 1 - Béla Bartók's "Piano Concerto No. 1" is premiered in Frankfurt, with the composer at the piano and Wilhelm Furtwängler conducting.
* December 5 - Leoš Janáček's "Glagolitic Mass" is premiered in Brno.
* Publishers Chappell & Co withdraw their financial support for the Promenade Concerts, to be replaced by the BBC.
*Benjamin Britten becomes a pupil of Frank Bridge.
*Witold Lutosławski enters the Warsaw conservatory.
*Blind Willie McTell's recording career begins.
*The Soul Stirrers' recording career begins.
*Big Bill Broonzy's recording career begins.
*Louis Armstrong and His Hot Seven record.
*Jim Jackson's recording career begins.

Published popular music

* "Adios Muchachos" w. Cesar Felipe Vedani m. Julio Cesar Sanders (aka Lenny Sanders)
* "Ain't She Sweet" w. Jack Yellen m. Milton Ager
* "Among My Souvenirs" w. Edgar Leslie m. Horatio Nicholls
* "At Sundown" w.m. Walter Donaldson
* "The Babbitt And The Bromide" w. Ira Gershwin m. George Gershwin
* "The Best Things In Life Are Free" w. B. G. De Sylva & Lew Brown m. Ray Henderson
* "Black And Tan Fantasy" m. Duke Ellington
* "Bless This House" w. Helen Taylor m. May Brahe
* "Blue Skies" w.m. Irving Berlin
* "Broken Hearted" w. B. G. De Sylva & Lew Brown m. Ray Henderson
* "Changes" w.m. Walter Donaldson
* "Chlo-e" w. Gus Kahn m. Neil Moret
* "Creole Love Call" w.m. Edward "Duke" Ellington
* "Dew-Dew-Dewy Day" w.m. Al Sherman, Charles Tobias & Howard Johnson
* "Diane" w.m. Ernie Rapee & Lew Pollack
* "Did You Mean It?" w. Abe Lyman & Sid Silvers m. Phil Baker
* "The Doll Dance" m. Nacio Herb Brown
* "Everywhere You Go" w.m. Larry Shay, Joe Goodwin & Mark Fisher
* "Fifty Million Frenchmen Can't Be Wrong" w. Willie Raskin & Billy Rose m. Fred Fisher
* "Four Or Five Times" w.m. Byron Gay
* "Funny Face" w. Ira Gershwin m. George Gershwin
* "Girl Of My Dreams" w.m. Sunny Clapp
* "Good News" w. B. G. De Sylva & Lew Brown m. Ray Henderson
* "Hallelujah!" w. Leo Robin & Clifford Grey m. Vincent Youmans
* "He Loves and She Loves" w. Ira Gershwin m. George Gershwin
* "High Hat" w. Ira Gershwin m. George Gershwin
* "Hoosier Sweetheart" w.m. Billy Baskette, Paul Ash & Joe Goodwin
* "I Don't Know How" w. Lorenz Hart m. Richard Rodgers
* "I Feel At Home With You" w. Lorenz Hart m. Richard Rodgers
* "I Left My Sugar Standing In The Rain" w. Irving Kahal m. Sammy Fain
* "I Scream You Scream" w.m. Robert King, Howard Johnson & Billy Moll
* "I Still Suits Me" w. Oscar Hammerstein II m. Jerome Kern
* "I'll Take Care Of Your Cares" w. Mort Dixon m. James V. Monaco
* "I'm Gonna Meet My Sweetie Now" w. Benny Davis m. Jesse Greer
* "I'm Looking Over A Four Leaf Clover" w. Mort Dixon m. Harry Woods
* "I'm Proud Of A Baby Like You" Schoenberg, Stevens, Helmick
* "In A Mist" m. Bix Beiderbecke
* "It All Belongs To Me" w.m. Irving Berlin
* "Just Like A Butterfly" w. Mort Dixon m. Harry Woods
* "Let A Smile Be Your Umbrella" w. Irving Kahal & Francis Wheeler m. Sammy Fain
* "Let's Kiss And Make Up" w. Ira Gershwin m. George Gershwin. Introduced by Fred Astaire and Adele Astaire in the musical "Funny Face"
* "Lindbergh (The Eagle Of The U.S.A.)" w.m. Al Sherman & Howard Johnson
* "The Lonesome Road" w. Gene Austin m. Nathaniel Shilkret
* "Lucky Lindy" w. L. Wolfe Gilbert m. Abel Baer
* "Mary, (What Are You Waiting For)" w.m. Walter Donaldson
* "Maybe It's Me" w. Lorenz Hart m. Richard Rodgers
* "Me And My Shadow" w.m. Dave Dreyer, Billy Rose & Al Jolson
* "Miss Annabelle Lee" w.m. Lew Pollack, Sidney Clare & Harry Richman
* "Mississippi Mud" w. James Cavanaugh m. Harry Barris
* "My Blue Heaven" w. George Whiting m. Walter Donaldson
* "My Heart Stood Still" w. Lorenz Hart m. Richard Rodgers
* "My One And Only" w. Ira Gershwin m. George Gershwin
* "Ol' Man River" w. Oscar Hammerstein II m. Jerome Kern
* "Plenty Of Sunshine" w. B. G. De Sylva & Lew Brown m. Ray Henderson
* "Preludes" by George Gershwin
* "Rain" w.m. Eugene Ford, Carey Morgan & Arthur Swanstrom
* "Ramona" w. L. Wolfe Gilbert m. Mabel Wayne
* "The Rangers' Song" w. Joseph McCarthy m. Harry A. Tierney. Introduced in the musical "Rio Rita" by J. Harold Murray, Harry Ratcliffe, Donald Douglas and chorus. Performed in the 1929 film version by John Boles and chorus.
* "A Room with a View" w.m. Noel Coward
* "Russian Lullaby" w.m. Irving Berlin
* "'S Wonderful" w. Ira Gershwin m. George Gershwin
* "Shaking The Blues Away" w.m. Irving Berlin
* "Side By Side" w.m. Harry Woods
* "The Song Is Ended" w.m. Irving Berlin
* "Strike Up The Band" w. Ira Gershwin m. George Gershwin
* "Struttin' With Some Barbecue" w.m. Louis Armstrong & Lillian Hardin Armstrong
* "Thou Swell" w. Lorenz Hart m. Richard Rodgers. Introduced by William Gaxton and Constance Carpenter in the musical "A Connecticut Yankee". Performed in the 1948 film "Words and Music" by June Allyson and the Blackburn Twins.
* "The Varsity Drag" w. B. G. De Sylva & Lew Brown m. Ray Henderson
* "Washboard Blues" m. Hoagy Carmichael & Irving Mills
* "What Does It Matter?" w.m. Irving Berlin
* "Where's That Rainbow?" Lorenz Hart m. Richard Rodgers
* "Why Do I Love You?" w. Oscar Hammerstein II m. Jerome Kern
* "You Remind Me Of A Naughty Springtime Cuckoo" w.m. Leslie Sarony
* "Your Land And My Land" w. Dorothy Donnelly m. Sigmund Romberg
* "You're Always In My Arms" w. Joseph McCarthy m. Harry Tierney

Popular music on record

*"Sweetheart Of Sigma Chi" by Ted Lewis & His Band
*"My Blue Heaven" by Gene Austin
*"Mine, All Mine" by the Coon-Sanders' Nighthawks
*"Mary (What Are You Waiting For?)" by Paul Whiteman & His Orchestra
*"Changes" by Paul Whiteman & His Orchestra
*"Blue Skys/Falling In Love With You" by Jesse Crawford
*"Fifty Million Frenchmen Can't Be Wrong" by Sophie Tucker with Miff Mole & His Little Molers
*"Shaking The Blues Away" by Ruth Etting
*"Varsity Drag" by Ruth Etting
*"It All Belongs To Me" by Ruth Etting
*"In A Little Spanish Town" by Carson Robison
*"My Pretty Girl" by Jean Goldkette & His Orchestra
*"Back Water Blues" by Bessie Smith
*"I'm Coming, Virginia" by Bix Beiderbecke
*"Lucky Lindy" by Nat Shilkret
*"I'm Gona Meet My Sweetie Now" by Jane Green
*"Black and Tan Fantasy" by Duke Ellington & His Orchestra
*"Singin' The Blues" by Frankie Trumbauer's Orch., with Bix & Lang
*"Potato Head Blues" by Louis Armstrong
*"Stardust" by Hoagy Carmichael
*"Honky Tonk Train Blues" recorded Meade Lux Lewis (not released until 1930)
*"Match Box Blues" - Blind Lemon Jefferson
*"Mama 'T Ain't Long Fo' Day" - Blind Willie McTell
*"Roamin Rambler Blues" - Lonnie Johnson
*"Jim Jackson's Kansas City Blues" - Jim Jackson

Classical music

*Béla Bartók - String Quartet No. 3
*Havergal Brian - Symphony No. 1 "Gothic"
*Frank Bridge - "Rhapsody: Enter Spring"
*John Alden Carpenter - String Quartet
*Gerald Finzi - "Violin Concerto"
*André Fleury - "Allegro symphonique"
*Reinhold Glière - "The Red Poppy" (ballet)
*Dmitri Kabalevsky - Piano Sonata No. 1
*Zoltán Kodály - Suite "Hary Janos"
*Bohuslav Martinů - "La Revue de Cuisine"
*Dane Rudhyar - "Paeans"
*Henri Sauguet - "La Chatte" (ballet)
*Arnold Schoenberg - String Quartet No. 3
*Roger Sessions - Symphony No. 1
*Dmitri Shostakovich - Symphony No. 2 in B major, Op. 14
*Igor Stravinsky - "Oedipus Rex"
*Karol Szymanowski - String Quartet No. 2
*Edgard Varèse - "Arcana" (1925-27)
*Anton Webern - String Trio, Op. 20

Opera

*Franz Lehár - "Der Zarewitsch"
*Sergei Prokofiev - "The Fiery Angel"
*Jaromír Weinberger - "Švanda the Bagpiper"

Musical theater

* "Burlesque" Broadway production opened at the Plymouth Theatre on September 1 and ran for 372 performances
* "Clowns in Clover" London revue opened at the Adelphi Theatre on December 1 and ran for 508 performances
* "The Desert Song" (Sigmund Romberg) - London production opened at the Drury Lane Theatre on April 7 and ran for 432 performances
* "Enchanted Isle" (Music, Lyrics and Book: Ida H. Chamberlain). Broadway production opened at the Lyric Theatre on September 19 and ran for 32 performances. Starring Marga Waldron and Greek Evans.
* "The Five O'Clock Girl" opened at the 44th Street Theatre on October 10 and transferred to the Shubert Theatre on April 16, 1928 for a total run of 280 performances
* "Funny Face" Broadway production opened at the Alvin Theatre on November 22 and ran for 250 performances
* "Golden Dawn" Broadway operetta opened at the Hammerstein Theatre on November 30 and ran for 184 performances
* "Good News!" Broadway production opened at the 46th Street Theatre on September 6 and ran for 557 performances
* "Hit The Deck" (Vincent Youmans and Clifford Grey)
**Broadway production opened at the Belasco Theatre on April 25 and ran for 532 performances
**London production opened at the Hippodrome on November 3 and ran for 277 performances
* "Just Fancy" Broadway production opened at the Casino Theatre on October 11 and ran for 79 performances. Starring Mrs Thomas Whiffen, Peggy O'Neill, Ivy Sawyer, Joseph Santley, Eric Blore and Raymond Hitchcock.
* "The Merry Malones" Broadway production opened at the Erlanger's Theatre on September 26 and ran for 216 performances
* "My Maryland" Broadway production opened at the Jolson Theatre on September 12 and ran for 312 performances
* "Oh, Kay!" London production opened at His Majesty's Theatre on September 21 and ran for 214 performances
* "One Dam Thing After Another" London production opened at the Pavilion Theatre on May 20
* "Peggy-Ann" London production opened at Daly's Theatre on July 27 and ran for 130 performances
* "Polly of Hollywood" Broadway production opened at George M. Cohan's Theatre on February 21 and ran for 24 performances. Starring Midge Miller.
* "Rio Rita" Broadway production opened at the Ziegfeld Theatre on February 2 and ran for 494 performances
* "Show Boat" (Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II) - Broadway production opened at the Ziegfeld Theatre on December 27 and ran for 572 performances
* "The Vagabond King" London production opened at the Winter Garden Theatre on April 19 and ran for 480 performances
* "The White Eagle" Broadway production opened at the Casino Theatre on December 26 and ran for 48 performances
* "Yes, Yes, Yvette" Broadway production opened at the Sam H. Harris Theatre on October 3 and ran for 40 performances

Musical film

* "The Jazz Singer" released October 6, starring Al Jolson

Births

*January 10 - Johnnie Ray, singer, pianist and songwriter (d. 1990)
*January 17 - Eartha Kitt, singer
*January 26 - Ronnie Scott, jazz musician and club owner (d. 1996)
*February 2:
** Stan Getz, jazz musician (d. 1991)
** Richard Maxfield, composer (d. 1969)
*February 7 - Juliette Gréco, singer
*February 9 - Joe Maneri, composer
*February 10 - Leontyne Price, opera singer
*February 27 - Guy Mitchell, singer (d. 1999)
*March 3 - Junior Parker, blues musician (d. 1971)
*March 16 - Ruby Braff, jazz trumpeter (d. 2003)
*March 18 - John Kander, composer of musicals
*March 27 - Mstislav Rostropovich, cellist (d. 2007)
*April 6 - Gerry Mulligan, jazz saxophonist (d. 1996)
*April 22 - Laurel Aitken, ska singer (d. 2005)
*April 30 - Johnny Horton, country singer (d. 1960)
*May 1 - Gary Bertini, conductor (d. 2005)
*June 23 - Bob Fosse, choreographer (d. 1987)
*July 3 - Ken Russell, controversial director of composer biopics
*July 4 - Wilfred Josephs, composer (d. 1997)
*July 7:
** Charlie Louvin, country singer and songwriter
** Doc Severinsen, jazz trumpeter
*July 16 - Mindy Carson, singer
*August 1 - Raymond Leppard, conductor
*September 11 - Vernon Corea, radio DJ, "Golden Voice of Radio Ceylon" (d. 2002)
*September 25 - Sir Colin Davis, conductor
*September 27 - Red Rodney, jazz trumpeter (d. 1994)
*October 7 - Al Martino, singer
*October 25 - Barbara Cook, singer and actress
*October 27 - Dominick Argento, composer
*October 28 - Cleo Laine, singer
*November 8 - Patti Page, singer
*November 11 - Mose Allison, jazz pianist
*November 21 - Charlie Palmieri, salsa musician (d. 1988)
*November 22 - Jimmy Knepper, jazz trombonist (d. 2003)
*December 26 - Denis Quilley, musical theatre actor (d. 2003)

Deaths

*February 9 - James Warren York, businessman and musical instrument maker
*February 19 - Robert Fuchs, composer and music theorist
*February 26 - Isabel Jay, singer and actress with the d'Oyly Carte Opera Company
*March 3 - Alberto Zelman, musician and conductor
*March 17 - James Scott Skinner, violinist
*April 16 - Rosa Sucher, opera singer
*May 3 - Ernest Ball, singer and songwriter (b. 1878)
*May 4 - Jakob Aljaž, priest and composer (b. 1845)
*May 16 - Sam Bernard, star of vaudeville and comic opera (b. 1863)
*May 29 - Jesse Shepard, composer and pianist
*June 5 - Paul Lacombe, composer
*August 13
** Hermann Abert, music historian (b. 1871)
** Árpád Doppler, composer (b. 1857)
*August 20 - Fannie Bloomfield Zeisler, pianist (b. 1863)
*September 4 - Isadora Duncan, dancer (b. 1877) (strangled in freak accident)
*October 1 - Wilhelm Harteveld, composer
*November 2 - Fred Billington, singer and actor with the d'Oyley Carte
*November 3 - George Dallas Sherman, bandleader
*November 9 - Ole Olsen, organist, composer and conductor
*November 20
**John Stillwell Stark, music publisher
**Wilhelm Stenhammar, composer, pianist and conductor
*December 21 - Courtice Pounds, singer and actor with the d'Oyly Carte
*"date unknown"
**Bulbuljan, Azerbaijani folk musician (b. 1841)
**Haldane Burgess, writer and musician (b. 1862)
**Emma Carus, contralto
**Frank Curzon, theatre manager (b. 1869)
**Ragbaby Stevens, jazz musician
**Sveinbjörn Sveinbjörnsson, composer
**Abdulbagi Zulalov, folk musician