Editing 1921 in music

{{Short description|none}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2011}}
{{YYYY music|1921}}
{{Year nav topic5|1921|music|film|radio}}
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1921.

==Specific locations==
*[[1921 in British music]]
*[[1921 in Norwegian music]]

==Specific genres==
*[[1921 in country music]]
*[[1921 in jazz]]

==Events==
*January – [[Amelita Galli-Curci]] marries her accompanist, Homer Samuels, who had been named in her divorce from the Marchese Luigi Curci.
*June–July – The [[Harvard Glee Club]] takes its first trip to Europe, garnering international press attention.<ref>[http://harvardgleeclub.org/wordpress/about/ Harvard Glee Club: About] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140310153951/http://harvardgleeclub.org/wordpress/about/ |date=March 10, 2014 }}. Accessed 10 March 2014</ref>
*November – A month before his death, [[Camille Saint-Saëns]], 86, gives a final recital.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Prod'homme|first=Jacques-Gabriel|author-link=Jacques-Gabriel Prod’homme|title=Camille Saint-Saëns|journal=[[The Musical Quarterly]]|pages=469–486 |date=October 1922|jstor=737853|issn=0027-4631|volume=8|issue=4 |doi=10.1093/mq/viii.4.469|url=https://zenodo.org/record/2425463}} {{subscription required}}</ref>
* [[Clarence Williams (musician)|Clarence Williams]] makes his first recordings
* [[Mary Stafford (singer)|Mary Stafford]] becomes the first black woman to record for [[Columbia Records]]
* The [[17-string koto]], or "Jūshichi-gen", is invented by [[Michio Miyagi]].
* [[Cyril Rootham]] dedicates his "Suite in Three Movements" for flute and piano to French flautist [[Louis Fleury]].

==Published popular music==

{{Listen
|filename=Ain't we got fun - Billy Jones.ogg
|title=Ain't We Got Fun?
|description=[[Ain't We Got Fun?]], recorded by [[Billy Jones (singer)|Billy Jones]] in 1921 for [[Edison Records]]. 
}}
''w. — words, m. — music''

* "[[Ain't We Got Fun?]]" w.m. [[Richard A. Whiting]], [[Raymond Egan]] and [[Gus Kahn]]
* "[[All by Myself (Irving Berlin song)|All by Myself]]" w.m. [[Irving Berlin]]
* "And Her Mother Came Too" w. [[Dion Titheradge]] m. [[Ivor Novello]]
* "[[Anytime (1921 song)|Any Time]]" w.m. Herbert Happy Lawson
* "[[April Showers (song)|April Showers]]" w. [[B. G. De Sylva]] m. [[Louis Silvers]]
* "Baltimore Buzz" w.m. [[Noble Sissle]] and [[Eubie Blake]]
* "Bandana Days" w.m. [[Noble Sissle]] and [[Eubie Blake]]
* "Bimini Bay" w. [[Gus Kahn]] and [[Raymond Egan]] m. [[Richard A. Whiting|Richard Whiting]]
* "[[Boy Wanted]]" w. [[Ira Gershwin]] m. [[George Gershwin]]
* "Dancing Time" w.(Eng) [[George Grossmith, Jr.]] (US) Howard Dietz m. [[Jerome Kern]] US words written 1924.
* "Dapper Dan" w. [[Lew Brown]] m. [[Albert Von Tilzer]]
* "[[Dear Old Southland]]" w. [[Henry Creamer]] m. [[Turner Layton]]
* "[[Dirty Hands, Dirty Face]]" w. [[Al Jolson]], [[Grant Clarke]], [[Edgar Leslie]] m. [[James V. Monaco]]
* "Down South" w. [[B. G. DeSylva]] m. [[Walter Donaldson (songwriter)|Walter Donaldson]]. Introduced by [[Al Jolson]] in the musical ''[[Bombo (musical)|Bombo]]''
* "[[Down Yonder]]" w.m. [[L. Wolfe Gilbert]]
* "Everybody Step" w.m. [[Irving Berlin]] [[Image:HawaiianChimes.jpg|200px|right]]
* "Hawaiian Chimes" w. [[Irving Bibo]] m. Eva Applefield
* "I Found A Rose In The Devil's Garden" w.m. [[Fred Fisher]] and Willie Raskin
* "I Wonder If You Still Care For Me" w.m. [[Harry B. Smith]] and Francis Wheeler
* "I'll Forget You" w. [[Annelu Burns]] m. [[Ernest Ball|Ernest R. Ball]]
* "[[I'm Just Wild About Harry]]" w.m. [[Noble Sissle]] and [[Eubie Blake]]
* "I'm Nobody's Baby" w.m. [[Benny Davis]], Milton Ager and Lester Santly
* "Jazz Me Blues" m. [[Tom Delaney (songwriter)|Tom Delaney]]
* "Keep Movin'" [[Helen Trix]]
* "Kitten On The Keys" m. [[Zez Confrey]]
* "Learn To Smile" w. [[Otto Harbach]] m. [[Louis A. Hirsch]]
* "Leave Me With A Smile" w.m. Charles Koehler and Earl Burtnett
* "Love Will Find A Way" w.m. [[Noble Sissle]] and [[Eubie Blake]] [[Image:HomeAgainBlues.jpg|200px|right]]
* "[[Ma! He's Making Eyes at Me]]" w. Sidney Clare m. Con Conrad
* "Make Believe" w. [[Benny Davis]] m. [[Jack Shilkret]]
* "Mandy 'N' Me" w. [[Bert Kalmar]] m. [[Con Conrad]]
* "My Sunny Tennessee" w.m. [[Bert Kalmar]], [[Harry Ruby]] and Herman Ruby
* "Sally" w. Clifford Grey m. [[Jerome Kern]]
* "[[Say It with Music (song)|Say It With Music]]" w.m. [[Irving Berlin]]
* "[[Second Hand Rose (song)|Second Hand Rose]]" w. [[Grant Clarke]] m. [[James F. Hanley]]
* "[[The Sheik of Araby]]" w. [[Harry B. Smith]] and Francis Wheeler m. [[Ted Snyder]]
* "She's Mine, All Mine" w.m. [[Bert Kalmar]] and [[Harry Ruby]]
* "[[Shuffle Along]] w.m. [[Noble Sissle]] and [[Eubie Blake]]
* "Shimmy With Me" w. [[P. G. Wodehouse]] m. [[Jerome Kern]] from the musical ''[[The Cabaret Girl]]''
* "Song Of Love" w. [[Dorothy Donnelly]] m. [[Sigmund Romberg]]
* "Strut Miss Lizzie" w. [[Henry Creamer]] m. [[Turner Layton]]
* "Sweet Lady" w. Howard Johnson m. [[Frank Crumit]] and Dave Zoob
* "Ten Little Fingers And Ten Little Toes" w. Harry Pease and Johnny White m. [[Ira Schuster]] and Ed G. Nelson
* "[[There'll Be Some Changes Made]]" w. [[Billy Higgins]] m. Benton Overstreet
* "Tuck Me To Sleep In My Old 'Tucky Home" w. [[Sam H. Lewis]] and [[Joe Young (lyricist)|Joe Young]] m. George W. Meyer
* "[[Wabash Blues]]" w. Dave Ringle m. Fred Meinken
* "When Big Profundo Sang Low C" w. Marion T. Bohannon m. [[George Botsford]]
* "When Buddha Smiles" w. [[Arthur Freed]] m. [[Nacio Herb Brown]]
* "When Shall We Meet Again" w. [[Raymond B. Egan]] m. [[Richard A. Whiting]]
* "Whip-poor-will" w. [[B. G. De Sylva]] m. [[Jerome Kern]]
* "Yoo-Hoo" w. [[B. G. De Sylva]] m. [[Al Jolson]]

==Top Popular Recordings 1921==

The following songs achieved the highest positions in [[Billboard Hot 100#History|Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954]] and record sales reported on the "[[Discography of American Historical Recordings]]" website during 1921:<ref name=PopMemories>{{Cite book |last=Whitburn |first=Joel |title=Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954 |publisher=Record Research |year=1986}}</ref>
Numerical rankings are approximate, they are only used as a frame of reference.
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;"
! <big>Rank</big>
! <big>Artist</big>
! <big>Title</big>
! <big>Label</big>
! <big>Recorded</big>
! <big>Released</big>
! <big>Chart Positions</big>
|-
| 1 || [[Paul Whiteman|Paul Whiteman and His Ambassador Orchestra]] || "[[Wang Wang Blues]]"<ref>{{Cite web |title=Victor matrix B-24392. Wang-wang blues / Ambassador Orchestra ; Paul Whiteman - Discography of American Historical Recordings |url=https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/matrix/detail/700009605/B-24392-Wang-wang_blues |access-date=2022-06-28 |website=adp.library.ucsb.edu}}</ref> || Victor 18694 || {{Start date|1920|8|19}} || {{Start date|1920|12}} || US Billboard 1921 #1, US #1 for 6 weeks, 17 total weeks, 457,000 sold 1921, later RCA Victor announced 1,000,000<ref name=GoldenDiscs/>
|-
| 2 || [[Isham Jones|Isham Jones Orchestra]] || "[[Wabash Blues]]"<ref>{{Cite web |title=BRUNSWICK 78rpm numerical listing discography: 5000 series |url=https://www.78discography.com/BRN5000.htm |access-date=2022-06-28 |website=www.78discography.com}}</ref> || Brunswick 5065 || {{Start date|1921|8|1}} || {{Start date|1921|10}} || US Billboard 1921 #2, US #1 for 6 weeks, 12 total weeks, 1,750,000 sold 1921-1922<ref name=GoldenDiscs>{{Cite book |last=Murrells |first=Joseph |url=http://archive.org/details/bookofgoldendisc00murr |title=The book of golden discs |date=1978 |publisher=London : Barrie & Jenkins |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-214-20512-5}}</ref>
|-
| 3 || Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra || "Cherie"<ref>{{Cite web |title=Victor matrix B-25049. Cherie / Paul Whiteman Orchestra - Discography of American Historical Recordings |url=https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/matrix/detail/700010286/B-25049-Cherie |access-date=2022-06-28 |website=adp.library.ucsb.edu}}</ref> || Victor 18758 || {{Start date|1920|8|9}} || {{Start date|1921|7}} || US Billboard 1921 #3, US #1 for 6 weeks, 12 total weeks, 405,647 sales
|-
| 4 || Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra || "[[Song of India (song)|Song of India]]"<ref>{{Cite web |title=Victor matrix B-25322. Song of India / Paul Whiteman Orchestra - Discography of American Historical Recordings |url=https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/matrix/detail/700010568/B-25322-Song_of_India |access-date=2022-06-28 |website=adp.library.ucsb.edu}}</ref> || Victor 18777 || {{Start date|1921|8|23}} || {{Start date|1921|9}} || US Billboard 1921 #5, US #1 for 5 weeks, 14 total weeks, 1,000,000 sold
|-
| 5 || Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra || "[[Say It with Music (song)|Say It with Music]]"<ref>{{Cite web |title=Victor matrix B-25471. Say it with music / Paul Whiteman Orchestra - Discography of American Historical Recordings |url=https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/matrix/detail/700010725/B-25471-Say_it_with_music |access-date=2022-06-28 |website=adp.library.ucsb.edu}}</ref> || Victor 18803 || {{Start date|1921|4|21}} || {{Start date|1921|11|12}} || US Billboard 1921 #4, US #1 for 5 weeks, 14 total weeks
|-
| 6 || [[Eddie Cantor]] || "[[Margie (song)|Margie]]"<ref>{{Cite web |title=EMERSON 78rpm numerical listing discography: 10000 - 10500 |url=https://www.78discography.com/Emerson10000.htm |access-date=2022-06-28 |website=www.78discography.com}}</ref> || Emerson 10301 || {{Start date|1920|12|15}} || {{Start date|1921|1}} || US Billboard 1921 #6, US #1 for 5 weeks, 12 total weeks, 1,000,000 sold
|-
| 7 || Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra || "[[My Mammy|My Mammy-Beautiful Faces Medley]]"<ref>{{Cite web |title=Victor matrix B-24863. My mammy / Paul Whiteman Orchestra - Discography of American Historical Recordings |url=https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/matrix/detail/700010098/B-24863-My_mammy_ |access-date=2022-06-28 |website=adp.library.ucsb.edu}}</ref> || Victor 18737 || {{Start date|1921|3|1}} || {{Start date|1921|5}} || US Billboard 1921 #7, US #1 for 5 weeks, 12 total weeks, 1,000,000 sales<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jazz History: The Standards (1920s) |url=https://www.jazzstandards.com/history/history-2.htm |access-date=2022-06-29 |website=www.jazzstandards.com}}</ref>
|-
| 8 || [[Ted Lewis (musician)|Ted Lewis and His Band]] || "[[All by Myself (Irving Berlin song)|All by Myself]]"<ref name=Columbia>{{Cite web |title=Columbia A Series 78rpm numerical listing discography: A3000 - A3500 |url=https://www.78discography.com/COLA3000.htm |access-date=2022-06-28 |website=www.78discography.com}}</ref> || Columbia 3434 || {{Start date|1921|6|11}} || {{Start date|1921|9}} || US Billboard 1921 #8, US #1 for 4 weeks, 12 total weeks
|-
| 9 || [[Al Jolson]] || "O-H-I-O (O My! O!)"<ref name=Columbia/> || Columbia 3361 || {{Start date|1920|12|13}} || {{Start date|1921|4}} || US Billboard 1921 #9, US #1 for 4 weeks, 7 total weeks
|-
| 10 || [[Nora Bayes]] (Charles Prince Orchestra) || "Make Believe"<ref>{{Cite web |title=Columbia matrix 79723. Make believe / Nora Bayes - Discography of American Historical Recordings |url=https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/matrix/detail/2000027498/79723-Make_believe |access-date=2022-06-28 |website=adp.library.ucsb.edu}}</ref> || Columbia 3392 || {{Start date|1921|3|1}} || {{Start date|1921|9}} || US Billboard 1921 #10, US #1 for 3 weeks, 10 total weeks
|-
| 11 || [[Marion Harris]] || "[[Look for the Silver Lining]]"<ref name=Columbia/> || Columbia 3367 || {{Start date|1920|12|29}} || {{Start date|1921|4}} || US Billboard 1921 #11, US #1 for 3 weeks, 10 total weeks
|-
| 22 || [[Mamie Smith|Mamie Smith & Her Jazz Hounds]] || "[[Crazy Blues]]"<ref>{{Cite web |title=OKEH 78rpm numerical listing discography: 4000 - 4500 |url=https://www.78discography.com/OK4000.html |access-date=2022-06-28 |website=www.78discography.com}}</ref> || Okeh 4169 || {{Start date|1920|8|10}} || {{Start date|1920|11}} || US Billboard 1920 #11, US #3 for 1 week, 11 total weeks, National Recording Registry 2005
|-
| 24 || Marion Harris || "[[I Ain't Got Nobody]]"<ref name=Columbia/> || Columbia 3371 || {{Start date|1920|4|21}} || {{Start date|1921|5}} || US Billboard 1921 #24, US #3 for 1 weeks, 7 total weeks
|-
| 28 || [[The Original Dixieland Jazz Band]] || "[[Palesteena|Palesteena (Lena from Palesteena)]]"<ref>{{Cite web |title=Victor matrix B-24590. Palesteena / Original Dixieland Jazz Band - Discography of American Historical Recordings |url=https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/matrix/detail/700009806/B-24590-Palesteena |access-date=2022-06-28 |website=adp.library.ucsb.edu}}</ref> || Victor 18717 || {{Start date|1920|12|4}} || {{Start date|1921|2}} || US Billboard 1921 #28, US #3 for 1 weeks, 5 total weeks
|}

==Classical music==
*[[Agustín Barrios]] – ''La Catedral''
*[[George Enescu]] – [[Symphony No. 3 (Enescu)|Symphony No. 3]] in C major, Op. 21 (revised version)
*[[Gabriel Fauré]]
**[[Cello Sonata No. 2 (Fauré)|Cello Sonata No. 2]]
**[[Piano Quintet No. 2 (Fauré)|Piano Quintet No. 2]] in C minor, Op. 115
*[[John Foulds]] – ''[[A World Requiem]]'' (1919–21; premiered 1923)
*[[Howard Hanson]] – ''Before the Night''
*[[Albert Ketèlbey]]
**''[[Bells Across the Meadows]]''
**''[[In a Persian Market]]''
*[[Rued Langgaard]] – [[Symphony No. 6 (Langgaard)|Symphony No. 6]]
*[[Carl Nielsen]] – ''[[Moderen]]'' (stage music)
*[[Henrique Oswald]] – [[String Quartet No. 4 (Oswald)|String Quartet No. 4]] in C minor, Op. 46
*[[Willem Pijper]]
**Symphony No. 2
**Trio No. 2 for violin, violoncello & piano
*[[Sergei Prokofiev]] – [[Piano Concerto No. 3 (Prokofiev)|Piano Concerto No. 3]] in C Major
*[[Camille Saint-Saëns]]
**[[Oboe Sonata (Saint-Saëns)|Oboe Sonata]], Op. 166
**[[Clarinet Sonata (Saint-Saëns)|Clarinet Sonata]], Op. 167
**[[Bassoon Sonata (Saint-Saëns)|Bassoon Sonata]], Op. 168
*[[Edgard Varèse]]
**''[[Offrandes]]''
**''[[Amériques]]'' (1918–21)
*[[Ralph Vaughan Williams]]
**''[[The Lark Ascending (Vaughan Williams)|The Lark Ascending]]'', version for violin & orchestra
**''[[Pastoral Symphony (Vaughan Williams)|A Pastoral Symphony]]''
*[[Heitor Villa-Lobos]] – ''Fantasia de Movimentos Mistos'', for violin & orchestra
*[[Arnold Schoenberg]] – Suite for Piano Op. 25
*[[John Ireland (composer)|John Ireland]] – [[Two Pieces for Piano (1921)|Two Pieces for Piano]]

==Opera==
*[[Franco Alfano]] – ''[[La leggenda di Sakùntala]]''
*[[Nicolae Bretan]] – ''Luceafarul''
*[[Paul Hindemith]] – ''[[Mörder, Hoffnung der Frauen]]'' and ''[[Das Nusch-Nuschi]]'' (premiered together June 4 at [[Staatstheater Stuttgart|Württembergisches Landestheater]], [[Stuttgart]])
*[[Leoš Janáček]] – ''[[Káťa Kabanová]]''
*[[Hans Jelmoli]] – ''Die Badener Fahrt''
*[[Emmerich Kálmán]] – ''Die Bajadere''
*[[Pietro Mascagni]] – ''[[Il piccolo Marat]]''

==Film==
*[[Paul Hindemith]] - ''Im Kampf mit dem Berge''

==[[Jazz]]==
{{Main|1921 in jazz}}

==[[Musical theater]]==
{|align=right
|{{Listen
|filename    = Eubie Blake - Just Wild about Harry.ogg
|title       = "I'm Just Wild About Harry"
|description = Instrumental version of "I'm Just Wild About Harry" from the musical ''[[Shuffle Along]]'' by [[Noble Sissle]] & [[Eubie Blake]]. Recorded May 17, 1922.
|format      = [[Ogg]]}}
|}
* ''[[Bombo (musical)|Bombo]]'', Broadway production opened at [[Jolson's 59th Street Theatre]] on October 6 and ran for 213 performances
* ''[[The Broadway Whirl]]'', Broadway revue opened at the [[Times Square Theatre]] on June 8 and ran for 85 performances
* ''[[The Golden Moth]]'' (Music: [[Ivor Novello]])  London production opened at the [[Adelphi Theatre]] on October 5.  Starring [[Bobbie Comber]] and [[Thorpe Bates]].
* ''[[Good Morning, Dearie]]'', Broadway production opened at the [[Globe Theatre (New York)|Globe Theatre]] on November 1 and ran for 347 performances
* ''Pot Luck'' London production opened at the [[Vaudeville Theatre]] on December 24.
* ''[[The League of Notions]]'' London [[revue]] opened at the [[Oxford Theatre]] on January 17
* ''[[Montague Phillips|The Rebel Maid]]'' [[West End theatre|London]] production opened at the [[Empire, Leicester Square|Empire Theatre]] on March 12 and ran for 114 performances.
* ''[[The Rose Girl]]'' (Music: [[Anselm Goetzl]] Book & Lyrics: [[William Carey Duncan]]) Broadway production opened at the [[Ambassador Theatre (New York)|Ambassador Theatre]] on February 11 and ran for 99 performances.  Starring [[Mabel Withee]], [[Charles Purcell]] and [[May Boley]].
* ''[[Sally (musical)|Sally]]'', [[West End theatre|London]] production opened at the [[Winter Garden Theatre (London)|Winter Garden Theatre]] on September 10 and ran for 387 performances
* ''[[Shuffle Along]]'', Broadway production opened at the [[Daly's 63rd Street Theatre]] on May 23 and ran for 504 performances
* ''[[Szibill|Sybil]]'', [[West End theatre|London]] production opened at [[Daly's Theatre]] on February 19 and ran for 346 performances

==Births==
*[[January 10]] – [[Helen Bonchek Schneyer]], folk musician (died 2005)
*[[January 17]] – [[Lorna Cooke deVaron]], choral conductor (died 2018)
*[[January 22]] – [[Arno Babajanian]], composer (died 1983)
*[[January 26]] – [[Eddie Barclay]], music producer (died 2005)
*[[January 31]]
**<!--January 31-->[[Carol Channing]], musical comedy star (died 2019)
**<!--January 31-->[[Mario Lanza]], operatic tenor and film star (died 1959)
*[[February 5]] – Sir [[John Pritchard (conductor)|John Pritchard]], British conductor (died 1989)
*[[February 13]] –  [[Jeanne Demessieux]], French organist and composer (died 1968)<ref>{{cite book|first=Don Michael|last=Randel|title=The Harvard Biographical Dictionary of Music|location=Cambridge|publisher=Belknap Press of Harvard University Press|year=1996|page=209|isbn=978-0-67437-299-3}}</ref>
*[[February 16]] – [[Vera-Ellen]], dancer and actress (died 1981)
*[[February 20]] - [[Ruth Gipps]], composer (died 1999)
*[[February 26]] – [[Betty Hutton]], actress and singer (died 2007)
*[[March 2]] – [[Robert Simpson (composer)|Robert Simpson]], musicologist and composer (died 1997)
*[[March 6]] – [[Julius Rudel]], conductor (died 2014)
*[[March 8]] – [[Cyd Charisse]], dancer (died 2008)
*[[March 11]] – [[Ástor Piazzolla]], tango composer (died 1992)
*[[March 12]] – [[Gordon MacRae]], singer and actor (died 1986)
*[[March 21]]
**<!--March 21-->[[Arthur Grumiaux]], violinist (died 1986)
**<!--March 21-->[[Antony Hopkins]], composer and music writer (died 2014)
*[[March 22]] – [[Nino Manfredi]], actor and film score composer (died 2004)
*[[March 27]] – [[Phil Chess]], born Fiszel Czyż, record producer (died 2016)
*[[March 28]] - [[Rostislav Berberov]], music theorist and musicologist (died 1984)<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |date=2001 |title=Berberov, Rostislav Nikolayevich|encyclopedia=[[The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians|Grove Music Online]] |series=Oxford Music Online |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|author=Grigory Pantyelev Paisov|doi=10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.48266}}</ref> 
*[[April 1]]
**<!--April 1-->[[Douglas Allanbrook]], composer (died 2003)
**<!--April 1-->[[William Bergsma]], composer (died 1994)
**<!--April 1-->[[Arthur "Guitar Boogie" Smith]], musician and composer (died 2014)
*[[April 3]] – [[Darío Moreno]], Turkish singer and composer (died [[1968 in music|1968]])<ref>{{cite book|author=Evelyn Mack Truitt|title=Who was who on Screen|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=irZmAAAAMAAJ|year=1977|publisher=Bowker|isbn=978-0-8352-0914-4|page=332}}</ref>
*[[April 8]]
**<!--April 8-->[[Alfie Bass]], actor (Tevye in West End production of ''Fiddler on the Roof'') (died 1987)
**<!--April 8-->[[Franco Corelli]], operatic tenor (died 2003)
*[[April 22]] – [[Cándido Camero]], percussionist (died 2020)
*[[April 26]] – [[Jimmy Giuffre]], jazz musician (died 2008)
*[[May 17]]
**[[Dennis Brain]], horn virtuoso (died 1957)
**[[Bob Merrill]], US songwriter (died 1998)
*[[May 23]] – [[Humphrey Lyttelton]], English jazz musician (died 2008)
*[[May 25]] – [[Hal David]] – US lyricist (died 2012)
*[[May 26]] – [[Inge Borkh]], German soprano (died 2018)<ref>{{cite book|first=David|last=Ewen|title=Musicians Since 1900: Performers in Concert and Opera|location=New York|publisher=Wilson|year=1978|isbn=978-0-82420-565-2|page=93}}</ref>
*[[June 1]] – [[Nelson Riddle]], US conductor, composer and arranger (died 1985)
*[[June 3]] – [[Betty Freeman]], patron of classical music (died 2009)
*[[June 21]]
**[[Judy Holliday]], US actress and singer (died 1965)
**[[Jane Russell]], US actress and singer (died 2011)
*[[June 24]] – Peggy DeCastro, US singer born in the Dominican Republic, eldest of the [[DeCastro Sisters]] (died 2004)
*[[June 25]] – [[Celia Franca]], dancer and choreographer (died 2007)
*[[July 12]] – [[Hilary Corke]], writer and composer (died 2001)
*[[July 15]] – [[Jack Beeson]], American pianist and composer (died 2010)
*[[July 17]] 
**[[George Barnes (musician)|George Barnes]], American swing jazz guitarist (died 1977)
**[[Mary Osborne]], American jazz guitarist (died 1992)
*[[July 20]] – [[Carmen Carrozza]], accordionist (died 2013)
*[[July 24]] – [[Giuseppe Di Stefano]], opera singer (died 2008)
*[[July 30]] – [[Grant Johannesen]], American pianist (died 2005)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/grant-johannesen-6147195.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220501/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/grant-johannesen-6147195.html |archive-date=May 1, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Grant Johannesen – Obituaries – News |work=The Independent |date=2005-04-30 |access-date=2013-02-24}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
*[[August 3]] – [[Richard Adler]], American composer and lyricist (died 2012)
*[[August 4]] – [[Herb Ellis]], American guitarist (died 2010)
*[[August 7]]
**[[Manitas de Plata]], French Gitano flamenco guitarist (died 2014)
**[[Karel Husa]], Czech-born classical composer (died 2016)
*[[August 9]] – [[Lola Bobesco]], Belgian violinist (died 2003)
*[[August 13]] – [[Mary Lee (singer)|Mary Lee]], Scottish singer (died 2022)
*[[September 3]] – [[Thurston Dart]], English musicologist, conductor and keyboard player (died 1971)
*[[September 4]] – [[Ariel Ramírez]], Argentine composer (died 2010)
*[[September 8]] – Sir [[Harry Secombe]], Welsh singer and comedian (died 2001)
*[[September 19]] – [[Billy Ward and the Dominoes|Billy Ward]], R&B singer ([[The Dominoes]]) (died 2002)
*[[September 21]] – [[Chico Hamilton]], jazz drummer (died 2013)
*[[September 30]] – [[Pedro Knight]], Cuban musician, manager (died [[2007 in music|2007]])
*[[October 1]] – [[James Whitmore]], American actor in film musicals (died 2009)
*[[October 21]]
**<!--October 21-->Sir [[Malcolm Arnold]], English composer (died 2006)
**<!--October 21-->[[Jarmil Burghauser]], Czech conductor, composer and musicologist (died 1997)
*[[October 23]] 
** [[Denise Duval]], French soprano (died 2016)
** [[İlhan Usmanbaş]], Turkish composer (died 2025)
*[[October 25]] – [[Little Hatch]], American blues musician (died 2003)
*[[November 5]] – [[Georges Cziffra]], pianist (died 1994)
*[[November 9]] – [[Pierrette Alarie]], soprano (died 2011)
*[[November 21]] – [[Vivian Blaine]], actress and singer (died 1995)
*[[November 23]] – [[Fred Buscaglione]], Italian singer, musician and songwriter (died 1960)
*[[December 3]] – [[Phyllis Curtin]], soprano (died 2016)
*[[December 4]] – [[Deanna Durbin]], singer and actress (died 2013)
*[[December 8]] – [[Johnny Otis]], blues musician (died 2012)
*[[December 15]] – [[Alan Freed]], disc jockey (died 1965)
*[[December 26]] – [[Steve Allen]], musician and comedian (died 2000)

==Deaths==
*[[January 23]] – [[Władysław Żeleński (musician)|Władysław Żeleński]], pianist, organist and composer (born 1837)
*[[February 8]] 
**<!--February 8-->[[George Formby Sr]], singer (born 1875; pulmonary tuberculosis)
**<!--February 8-->[[Francisco D'Andrade]], opera singer (born 1856)
*[[March 14]] – [[Gustave Barnes]], artist and musician (born 1877)
*[[March 24]] – [[Déodat de Séverac]], composer (born 1872)
*[[April 3]] – [[Annie Louise Cary]], operatic contralto (born 1842)
*[[April 5]] – [[Alphons Diepenbrock]], composer and writer (born 1862)
*[[April 7]] – [[Víctor Mirecki Larramat]], cellist (born 1847)
*[[April 20]] – [[Tony Jackson (jazz musician)|Tony Jackson]], pianist, singer and composer (born 1876; cirrhosis of the liver)
*[[May 4]] – [[Max Kalbeck]], music writer and critic (born 1850)
*[[June 8]] – [[Natalie Bauer-Lechner]], viola player (born 1858)
*[[July 9]] – [[Marianne Brandt (contralto)|Marianne Brandt]], operatic contralto (born 1842)
*[[August 2]] – [[Enrico Caruso]], operatic tenor (born 1873; peritonitis)
*[[August 8]] – [[Arthur Pougin]], music critic (born 1834)
*[[September 27]]
**<!--September 27-->[[Engelbert Humperdinck (composer)|Engelbert Humperdinck]], composer (born 1854; heart attack)
**<!--September 27-->[[Zdzisław Birnbaum]], violinist and conductor (born 1878)
*[[September 28]] – [[Princess Pauline von Metternich]], patron of composers including Wagner and Smetana (born 1836)
*[[October 4]] – [[Sophie Stehle]], operatic soprano (born 1838)
*[[November 20]] – [[Christina Nilsson]], operatic soprano (born 1843)
*[[November 25]] – [[Théodore Lack]], pianist (born 1846)
*[[November 29]] – [[Ivan Caryll]], composer of operettas (born 1861; haemorrhage)
*[[December 10]] – [[Victor Jacobi]], composer of operettas (born 1883; illness)
*[[December 16]] – [[Camille Saint-Saëns]], composer (born 1835; tuberculosis)
*[[December 25]] – [[Hans Huber (composer)|Hans Huber]], composer (born 1852)

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Commons category}}

[[Category:1921 in music| ]]
[[Category:20th century in music]]
[[Category:Music by year]]