1954 in music

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[edit] Events

Frank Sinatra wins the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in From Here to Eternity, 1953; resuscitating his singing career in the process
Bing Crosby received a Best Actor nomination for his work in The Country Girl
January 14 - First documented use of the abbreviated term "Rock 'n' Roll" to promote Alan Freed's Rock 'n' Roll Jubillee, held at St. Nicholas Arena in New York, New York. Previously the genre term was just called "Rock and Roll"
March 12 - Arnold Schoenberg's opera Moses und Aron premiered in Hamburg (given a staged premiere on June 6 in Zurich) ([1])
April 12 - Bill Haley and His Comets record "Rock Around the Clock" in New York City for Decca Records.
May 10 - "Rock Around the Clock" released as the b-side to "Thirteen Women (and Only One Man in Town)". The song is only a moderate success until it is featured in the film Blackboard Jungle the next year.
July 5 - Elvis Presley has his first commercial recording session at Sun Studios in Memphis, Tennessee. He sang That's All Right (Mama) and Blue Moon of Kentucky.
October 16 - Elvis Presley makes his first appearance on a radio program in Shreveport, Louisiana called the Louisiana Hayride.
Fall - A cover version of Big Joe Turner's "Shake, Rattle and Roll" by Bill Haley and His Comets becomes the first internationally popular rock and roll recording.
Record companies deliver 7 inch 45 rpm record singles to radio stations instead of 78s.
Lyric Opera of Chicago is founded.
Pat Boone begins his recording career at Republic Records
Les Paul commissions Ampex to build the first eight track tape recorder, at his own expense.
The Drifters form.
The Everly Brothers form.
The Isley Brothers form.
Carl Perkins' musical career begins.
The Newport Jazz Festival is established by George Wein.

[edit] Albums released

And I Thought About You - Patti Page
Clap Yo' Hands - The Four Lads
Crew Cut Capers - The Crew Cuts
Favorite Songs - The Ames Brothers
Guy Mitchell Sings - Guy Mitchell
Irving Berlin Favorites - Eddie Fisher
It Must Be True - The Ames Brothers
Louis Armstrong And The Mills Brothers - Louis Armstrong & The Mills Brothers
Louis Armstrong Plays W. C. Handy - Louis Armstrong
The Man That Got Away - Georgia Gibbs
Meet The Mills Brothers - The Mills Brothers
Mr. Rhythm - Frankie Laine
My Heart's In The Highland - Jo Stafford
Old Masters - Bing Crosby
RCA Thesaurus - John Serry, Sr. soloist/arr. with The Bel-Cordions for RCA
Romance On The Range - Patti Page
Some Fine Old Chestnuts - Bing Crosby
Song Souvenirs - Patti Page
Songs For Young Lovers - Frank Sinatra
Souvenir Album - The Mills Brothers
Swing Easy - Frank Sinatra
Till I Waltz Again With You - Teresa Brewer
Young at Heart - Doris Day & Frank Sinatra

[edit] No. 1 hit singles

These singles reached the top of Billboard magazine's charts in 1954.

First week	Number of weeks	Title	Artist	Label
January 2, 1954	8	"Oh My Papa"	Eddie Fisher	RCA Victor
February 27, 1954	2	"Secret Love"	Doris Day	Columbia
March 13, 1954	1	"Make Love To Me"	Jo Stafford	Columbia
March 20, 1954	1	"Secret Love"	Doris Day	Columbia
March 27, 1954	2	"Make Love To Me"	Jo Stafford	Columbia
April 10, 1954	7	"Wanted"	Perry Como	RCA Victor
May 29, 1954	10	"Little Things Mean A Lot"	Kitty Kallen	Decca
August 7, 1954	7	"Sh-Boom"	Crew-Cuts	Mercury
September 25, 1954	6	"Hey There"	Rosemary Clooney	Columbia
November 6, 1954	1	"This Ole House"	Rosemary Clooney	Columbia
November 13, 1954	3	"I Need You Now"	Eddie Fisher	RCA Victor
December 4, 1954	7	"Mr. Sandman"	The Chordettes	Cadence

[edit] Top hits on record

[edit] Top R&B and Country hits on record

"Bimbo" - Jim Reeves
"Goodnight Sweetheart Goodnight" - Spaniels
"Gypsy Heart" - Jim Reeves
"Hearts Of Stone" - Jewels
"I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man" - Muddy Waters
"Shake Rattle And Roll" - Joe Turner
"That's All Right" - Elvis Presley
"The Things That I Used To Do" - Guitar Slim
"Work With Me Annie" - Hank Ballard & the Midnighters

[edit] Published popular music

[edit] A-G

"All Of You" w.m. Cole Porter
"Annie Had A Baby" w.m. Henry Glover & Lois Mann
"Bless Your Beautiful Hide" w. Johnny Mercer m. Gene De Paul
"A Blossom Fell" w.m. Howard Barnes, Harold Cornelius & Dominic John
"Cara Mia" w.m. Tulio Trapani & Lee Lange
"Cherry Pink And Apple Blossom White" w. (Eng) Mack David (Fr) Jacques Larue m. Louiguy
"Count Your Blessings (Instead of Sheep)" w.m. Irving Berlin
"Cross Over The Bridge" w.m. Bennie Benjamin & George David Weiss
"Dim, Dim The Lights" w.m. Beverly Ross & Julius Dixon
"Earth Angel" w.m. Jesse Belvin, Curtis Williams & Gaynel Hodge
"The Finger Of Suspicion Points At You" w.m. Paul Mann & Al Lewis
"Friends And Neighbours" Marvin Scott & Malcolm Lockyear
"From The Vine Came The Grape" w.m. Leonard Whitcup & Paul Cunningham
"Gilly, Gilly, Ossenfeffer, Katzenellen Bogen By The Sea" w.m. Al Hoffman & Dick Manning
"Goin' Co'tin'" w. Johnny Mercer m. Gene De Paul

[edit] H

"Hearts Of Stone" w. Eddy Ray m. Rudy Jackson
"Hernando's Hideaway" w.m. Richard Adler & Jerry Ross
"He's A Tramp" Sonny Burke, Peggy Lee
"Hey There" w.m. Richard Adler & Jerry Ross
"The High and the Mighty" w. Ned Washington m. Dimitri Tiomkin
"Honeycomb" w.m. Bob Merrill

[edit] I-L

"I Can't Tell A Waltz From A Tango" Al Hoffman, Dick Manning
"I Could Be Happy With You" w.m. Sandy Wilson
"I Don't Hurt Anymore" w. Jack Rollins m. Don Robertson
"I Got A Woman" w.m. Ray Charles & Renald Richard
"I Left My Heart In San Francisco" w. Douglas Cross m. George Cory
"If I Give My Heart To You" w.m. Jimmy Brewster, Jimmie Crane & Al Jacobs
"I'll Walk With God" w. Paul Francis Webster m. Nicholas Brodszky
"I'm Gonna File My Claim" w. Ken Darby m. Lionel Newman
"I'm Not At All In Love" w.m. Richard Adler & Jerry Ross. Introduced by Janis Paige in the musical The Pajama Game.
"In Other Words" (aka "Fly Me To The Moon") w.m. Bart Howard
"It's A Woman's World" w. Sammy Cahn m. Sammy Cahn & Cyril Mockridge
"It's Never Too Late To Fall In Love" w.m. Sandy Wilson
"Let Me Go, Lover!" w.m. Jenny Lou Carson & Al Hill
"The Little Shoemaker" w.(Eng) John Turner & Geoffrey Parsons (Fr) Avril Lamarque m. Rudi Revil
"Lost In Loveliness" w. Leo Robin m. Sigmund Romberg

[edit] M-P

"Make Yourself Comfortable" w.m. Bob Merrill
"Mambo Italiano" w.m. Bob Merrill
"Marilyn Monroe Mambo" Perez Prado
"Mister Sandman" w.m. Pat Ballard
"Misty" w. Johnny Burke m. Errol Garner
"My Own True Love" w. Mack David m. Max Steiner Music is "Tara's Theme" 1939.
"My Son, My Son" w. Bob Howard m. Melville Farley & Eddie Calvert
"The Naughty Lady Of Shady Lane" w.m. Sid Tepper & Roy C. Bennett
"Oh, Look At Me, I'm Dancing" w. Dorothy Reynolds m. Julian Slade
"Only You (and You Alone)" w.m. Buck Ram & Ande Rand
"Open Up Your Heart (And Let The Sunshine In)" w.m. Stuart Hamblen
"Papa Loves Mambo" w.m. Al Hoffman, Dick Manning & Bix Reichner
"Pledging My Love" w.m. Ferdinand Washington & Don Robey
"The Poor People Of Paris" w.(Eng) Jack Lawrence (Fr) Rene Rouzaud m. Marguerite Monnot "La Goulante du Pauvre Jean"

[edit] R-T

"Release Me" w.m. Eddie Miller & W. S. Stevenson
"River Of No Return" w. Ken Darby m. Lionel Newman from the film River Of No Return.
"Shake, Rattle And Roll" w.m. Charles Calhoun
"Sh-Boom" w.m. James Keyes, Claude & Carl Feaster, Floyd F. McRae & James Edwards
"Sincerely" w.m. Harvey Fuqua & Alan Freed
"Sisters" w.m. Irving Berlin
"Skokiaan" w. Tom Glazer m. August Msarurgwa
"Smile" w. John Turner & Geoffrey Parsons m. Charles Chaplin
"Sobbin' Women" w. Johnny Mercer m. Gene De Paul
"Steam Heat" w.m. Richard Adler & Jerry Ross
"There Once Was A Man" w. m. Richard Adler & Jerry Ross
"This Ole House" w.m. Stuart Hamblen
"Three Coins In The Fountain" w. Sammy Cahn m. Jule Styne
"Tweedle Dee" w.m. Winfield Scott

[edit] W-Y

"We Said We Wouldn't Look Back" w. Dorothy Reynolds m. Julian Slade from the musical Salad Days
"Whither Thou Goest" w.m. Guy Singer
"Wonderful, Wonderful Day" w. Johnny Mercer m. Gene De Paul from the film Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
"Work With Me, Annie" w.m. Hank Ballard
"Young And Foolish" w. Arnold B. Horwitt m. Albert Hague from the 1955 musical Plain and Fancy

[edit] Classical music

Jean Barraqué - Sequence
Arnold Bax - Autumn Legend
Boris Blacher - Viola Concerto
Pierre Boulez - Le Marteau sans Maître
George Crumb - String Quartet
Mario Davidovsky - Concertino for Percussion and String Orchestra
Ernő Dohnányi - American Rhapsody
Gerald Finzi - Cello Concerto opus 40 in A minor
André Fleury - Messe pour la fête de tous les saints
Armstrong Gibbs - Dale and Fell
Howard Hanson - Symphony No. 5 (Sinfonia Sacra)
Alexander Karamanov - Symphony No. 1
Aram Khachaturian - Spartacus, ballet
György Ligeti - String Quartet No. 1
Peter Mennin - Canzona for Strings
Darius Milhaud - West Point Suite
Walter Piston - Symphony No. 5
Edmund Rubbra - Sixth Symphony and Viola Concerto
Roger Sessions - Idyll of Theocritus
Igor Stravinsky - In Memoriam Dylan Thomas
Virgil Thomson - Concerto for Flute, Strings, Harp and Percussion
Henri Tomasi - Concerto for Horn
Eduard Tubin - Symphony No. 6
Edgard Varèse - Déserts (1950-54)
Stefan Wolpe - Symphony for 24 Instruments

[edit] Opera

Jack Beeson - Hello, Out There
Benjamin Britten - Turn of the Screw
Aaron Copland - The Tender Land
Bohuslav Martinů - Mirandolina
Jerome Moross - The Golden Apple
Arnold Schoenberg - Moses und Aron
William Walton - Troilus and Cressida

[edit] Musical theater

After the Ball (Music, Lyrics and Book: Noël Coward) London production opened at the Globe Theatre on June 10 and ran for 188 performances
The Boy Friend Broadway production opened at the Royale Theatre on September 30 and ran for 485 performances
By the Beautiful Sea opened at the Majestic Theatre on April 8 and transferred to the Imperial Theatre on October 2 for a total run of 268 performances
Can-Can London production opened at the Coliseum on October 14 and ran for 394 performances
The Duenna ( Music: Julian Slade Lyrics & Book: Dorothy Reynolds) London production opened at the Westminster Theatre on July 28 and ran for 134 performances
Fanny Broadway production opened at the Majestic Theatre on November 4 and transferred to the Belasco Theatre on December 4, 1956 for a total run of 888 performances
The Girl in Pink Tights Broadway production opened at the Mark Hellinger Theatre on March 5 and ran for 115 performances
The Golden Apple Broadway production opened at the Alvin Theatre on April 20 and ran for 125 performances
Happy Holiday (Music: George Posford Lyrics & Book: Eric Maschwitz and Arnold Ridley) London production opened at the Palace Theatre on December 22 and ran for 31 performances
House of Flowers Broadway production opened at the Alvin Theatre on December 30 and ran for 165 performances
On Your Toes Broadway revival opened at the 46th Street Theatre on October 11 and ran for 64 performances
The Pajama Game (Richard Adler and Jerry Ross) — Broadway production opened at the St. James Theatre on May 13 and transferred to the Shubert Theatre on November 24, 1956 for a total run of 1063 performances
Pal Joey (Music: Richard Rodgers Lyrics: Lorenz Hart Book: John O'Hara) London production opened at Princes Theatre on August 4 and ran for 245 performances
Peter Pan Broadway production opened at the Winter Garden Theatre on October 20 and ran for 152 performances
Salad Days (Music: Julian Slade Lyrics & Book: Dorothy Reynolds and Julian Slade) London production opened at the Vaudeville Theatre on August 5 and ran for 2283 performances
Zuleika — premiere in Cambridge, England