This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1936.
Specific locations 1936 in British music 1936 in Norwegian music
Specific genres 1936 in country music 1936 in jazz
Events January 4 – Billboard magazine publishes its first music hit parade January 28 – An article "Muddle Instead of Music" is published anonymously, almost certainly with Stalin's approval, in the Soviet newspaper Pravda, denouncing Dmitri Shostakovich's opera Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District. March 28 – Inaugural concert of the , conducted by Ernst Mehlich April 19 – In Barcelona, Alban Berg's Violin Concerto is given its premiere, by Louis Krasner May 2 – Peter and the Wolf (Петя и волк, Petya i volk), a Russian fairy tale of Sergei Prokofiev's composition, is premiered at the Nezlobin Theater in Moscow, Soviet Union, but attracts little attention at this time. May – Shostakovich completes composition of his Symphony No. 4, but is persuaded to withdraw it from its planned premiere on December 11 and it is not first performed until 1961. December 24 – Release of the film Natalka Poltavka in Ukraine, the first filmed Russian opera. Nat King Cole's recording career begins. Count Basie begins recording with his own band, which includes Lester Young. José Iturbi becomes conductor of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra in the United States. John Serry Sr. begins extended appearances at the Star Light Roof in the Waldorf Astoria Hotel with the Lester Lanin Orchestra in New York City.
Published popular music "At The Codfish Ball" words: Sidney D. Mitchell, music: Lew Pollack. Introduced by Shirley Temple and Buddy Ebsen in the film Captain January "Awake in a Dream" w. Leo Robin m. Frederick Hollander. Introduced by Marlene Dietrich in the film Desire. "Bojangles Of Harlem" w. Dorothy Fields m. Jerome Kern. Introduced by Fred Astaire in the film Swing Time. "By Strauss" w. Ira Gershwin m. George Gershwin. Introduced by Gracie Barrie and Robert Shafter in the revue The Show Is On "Christopher Columbus" w. Andy Razaf m. Leon Berry "Cloudy" m. Mary Lou Williams "Cool Water" w.m. Bob Nolan "Does Your Heart Beat For Me?" w. Mitchell Parish m. Russ Morgan "Down in the Depths (On the Ninetieth Floor)" w.m. Cole Porter. Introduced by Ethel Merman in the musical Red, Hot and Blue. "Easy To Love" w.m. Cole Porter. Introduced by James Stewart and reprised by Frances Langford in the film Born to Dance "Empty Saddles (in the Old Corral)" w. J. Keirn Brennan m. Billy Hill "Everybody Swing" w. Sidney Clare m. Harry Akst "Fancy Meeting You" w. E. Y. Harburg m. Harold Arlen. Introduced by Dick Powell and Jeanne Madden in the film Stage Struck. "Farewell To Dreams" w. Gus Kahn m. Sigmund Romberg "A Fine Romance" w. Dorothy Fields m. Jerome Kern. Introduced by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in the film Swing Time. "Gee! But You're Swell" w. Charles Tobias m. Abel Baer "Get Thee Behind Me Satan" w.m. Irving Berlin. Introduced by Harriet Hilliard in the film Follow the Fleet "Glad To Be Unhappy" w. Lorenz Hart m. Richard Rodgers. Introduced by Doris Carson and David Morris in the musical On Your Toes "Gloomy Sunday" w. (Eng) Sam M. Lewis m. Rezső Seress "The Glory of Love" w.m. Billy Hill "Goodnight, Irene" w.m. Huddie "Leadbelly" Ledbetter "Goodnight My Love" w. Harry Revel m. Mack Gordon "Goody Goody" w.m. Johnny Mercer & Matty Malneck "Has Anybody Seen Our Ship?" w.m. Noël Coward "He Ain't Got Rhythm" w.m. Irving Berlin. Introduced by Alice Faye in the film On the Avenue. "He Hasn't a Thing Except Me" w. Ira Gershwin m. Vernon Duke. Introduced by Fanny Brice in the revue Ziegfeld Follies of 1936. "I Can't Escape From You" w.m. Leo Robin & Richard A. Whiting. Introduced by Bing Crosby in the film Rhythm on the Range. "I Love To Sing-a" w. E. Y. Harburg m. Harold Arlen. Introduced by Al Jolson and Cab Calloway in the film The Singing Kid. "If I Should Lose You" w. Leo Robin m. Ralph Rainger. Introduced by Gladys Swarthout and John Boles in the film Rose of the Rancho. "I'm an Old Cowhand (From the Rio Grande)" w.m. Johnny Mercer. Introduced by Bing Crosby in the film Rhythm on the Range. "I'm in the Mood for Love" Introduced by Darla Hood in a clubhouse and Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer on a radio in the Our Gang (Little Rascals) short, The Pinch Singer (1936). "I'm Putting All My Eggs in One Basket" w.m. Irving Berlin. Introduced by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in the film Follow the Fleet. "In the Chapel in the Moonlight" w.m. Billy Hill "Is It True What They Say About Dixie?" w. Irving Caesar & Sammy Lerner "It's a Sin to Tell a Lie" w.m. Billy Mayhew "It's De-Lovely" w.m. Cole Porter. Introduced by Ethel Merman and Bob Hope in the musical Red, Hot and Blue "It's Got to Be Love" w. Lorenz Hart m. Richard Rodgers. Introduced by Ray Bolger and Doris Carson in the musical On Your Toes. "I've Got a Feelin' You're Foolin'" w. Arthur Freed m. Nacio Herb Brown "I've Got You Under My Skin" w.m. Cole Porter. Introduced by Virginia Bruce in the film Born to Dance. "Keep a Twinkle In Your Eye" Johnny Mercer, Rube Bloom "Let Yourself Go" w.m. Irving Berlin. Introduced by Ginger Rogers in the film Follow the Fleet "Let's Call a Heart a Heart" w. Johnny Burke m. Arthur Johnston from the film Pennies From Heaven "Let's Face the Music and Dance" w.m. Irving Berlin. Introduced by Fred Astaire in the film Follow the Fleet. "Life Begins at Forty" Yellen, Shapiro "Little Old Lady" w. Stanley Adams m. Hoagy Carmichael "Me and the Moon" w. Walter Hirsch m. Lou Handman "Moonburn" w. Edward Heyman m. Hoagy Carmichael. Introduced by Bing Crosby in the film Anything Goes "Moonlight and Shadows" w. Leo Robin m. Frederick Hollander. Introduced by Dorothy Lamour in the film The Jungle Princess "Music in May" w. Christopher Hassall m. Ivor Novello. Introduced by Dorothy Dickson in the musical Careless Rapture "Never Gonna Dance" w. Dorothy Fields m. Jerome Kern. Introduced by Fred Astaire in the film Swing Time "On The Beach At Bali-Bali" w.m. Al Sherman, Jack Meskill & Abner Silver "One, Two, Button Your Shoe" w. Johnny Burke m. Arthur Johnston "Oooh! Look-A There, Ain't She Pretty?" w. Clarence Todd m. Carmen Lombardo "Organ Grinder's Swing" w. Mitchell Parish & Irving Mills m. Will Hudson "Pennies from Heaven" w. Johnny Burke m. Arthur Johnston "Pick Yourself Up" w. Dorothy Fields m. Jerome Kern. Introduced by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in the film Swing Time "Play, Orchestra, Play" w.m. Noël Coward "Poinciana" w. (Sp) Manuel Lliso (Eng) Buddy Bernier m. Nat Simon "Poor Little Angeline" w.m. Will Grosz & Jimmy Kennedy "Rainbow on the River" w. Paul Francis Webster m. Louis Alter "Ridin' High" w.m. Cole Porter "San Francisco" w. Gus Kahn m. Bronislaw Kaper & Walter Jurmann "Sing Me A Swing Song" w. Stanley Adams m. Hoagy Carmichael "Sing, Sing, Sing" w.m. Louis Prima "Slaughter on Tenth Avenue" m. Richard Rodgers "There's A Bridle Hangin' On The Wall" w.m. Carson Robison "There's a Small Hotel" w. Lorenz Hart m. Richard Rodgers "Too Good for the Average Man" w. Lorenz Hart m. Richard Rodgers "The Touch Of Your Lips" w.m. Ray Noble Until the Real Thing Comes Along w. Sammy Cahn, Mann Holiner m. Saul Chaplin, Alberta Nichols, L.E. Freeman. (A substantially different version of the song by Nichols and Holiner appeared in the 1931 Broadway revue Rhapsody in Black as "Till the Real Thing Comes Along".) "Waltz In Swingtime" w. Dorothy Fields m. Jerome Kern "The Way You Look Tonight" w. Dorothy Fields m. Jerome Kern. Introduced by Fred Astaire in the film Swing Time "We Saw The Sea" w.m. Irving Berlin. Introduced by Fred Astaire in the film Follow the Fleet "When Did You Leave Heaven?" w. Walter Bullock m. Richard A. Whiting "When I'm With You" w. Mack Gordon m. Harry Revel. Introduced by Shirley Temple and Tony Martin in the film Poor Little Rich Girl. "When My Dreamboat Comes Home" w.m. Cliff Friend & Dave Franklin "The Window Cleaner" George Formby, Gifford, Cliffe "With My Shillelagh Under My Arm" w.m. Billy O'Brien & Raymond Wallace "With Plenty of Money and You" w. Al Dubin m. Harry Warren "Would You?" w. Arthur Freed m. Nacio Herb Brown "You (Gee But You're Wonderful)" w. Harold Adamson m. Walter Donaldson "You Gotta S-M-I-L-E to Be H-A-P-P-Y" w.m. Mack Gordon & Harry Revel "You Turned The Tables On Me" w. Sidney D. Mitchell m. Louis Alter "You Were There" w.m. Noël Coward "(If You Can't Sing It) You'll Have to Swing It (Mr. Paganini)" w.m. Sam Coslow
Top popular recordings 1936
The twenty popular records listed below were extracted from Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954, record sales reported on the "Discography of American Historical Recordings" website, and other sources as specified. Numerical rankings are approximate, they are only used as a frame of reference. Rank Artist Title Label Recorded Released Chart positions 1 Bing Crosby "Pennies from Heaven" Decca 947 US BB 1936 #1, US #1 for 10 weeks, 15 total weeks, Grammy Hall of Fame 2004, Jazz Standards 1936 2 Fred Astaire "The Way You Look To-night" Brunswick 7717 US BB 1936 #2, US #1 for 6 weeks, 17 total weeks, Grammy Hall of Fame 1998, Jazz Standards 1936 3 Benny Goodman and His Orchestra (Vocal Helen Ward) "The Glory Of Love" Victor 25316 US BB 1936 #3, US #1 for 6 weeks, 15 total weeks 4 Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra "Alone" Victor 25191 US BB 1936 #4, US #1 for 6 weeks, 14 total weeks 5 Benny Goodman and His Orchestra (Vocal Helen Ward) "Goody Goody" Victor 25245 US BB 1936 #5, US #1 for 6 weeks, 13 total weeks 6 Fred Astaire "A Fine Romance" Brunswick 7716 US BB 1936 #6, US #1 for 5 weeks, 12 total weeks 7 Tommy Dorsey and His Clambake Seven "The Music Goes Round and Round" Victor 25201 US BB 1936 #7, US #1 for 5 weeks, 9 total weeks 8 Shep Fields and His Rippling Rhythm Orchestra "Did I Remember?" Bluebird 6476 US BB 1936 #8, US #1 for 4 weeks, 12 total weeks 9 Fats Waller and his Rhythm "It's a Sin to Tell a Lie" Victor 25342 US BB 1936 #9, US #1 for 4 weeks, 12 total weeks 10 Jimmy Dorsey and His Orchestra "Is It True What They Say About Dixie?" Decca 768 US BB 1936 #10, US #1 for 3 weeks, 12 total weeks 11 Jan Garber and His Orchestra "Melody from the Sky" Decca 761 US BB 1936 #11, US #1 for 3 weeks, 11 total weeks 12 Eddy Duchin and His Orchestra "Moon Over Miami" Victor 25212 US BB 1936 #12, US #1 for 3 weeks, 11 total weeks 13 Riley-Farley and their Onyx Club Band "The Music Goes 'Round and Around" Decca 578 US BB 1936 #13, US #1 for 2 weeks, 15 total weeks, 100,000 sales 14 Shep Fields and His Rippling Rhythm Orchestra "In the Chapel in the Moonlight" Bluebird 6640 US BB 1936 #14, US #1 for 2 weeks, 15 total weeks 15 Hal Kemp and His Orchestra "There's a Small Hotel" Brunswick 7634 US BB 1936 #15, US #1 for 2 weeks, 15 total weeks 16 Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians "When Did You Leave Heaven" Victor 25357 US BB 1936 #16, US #1 for 2 weeks, 15 total weeks 17 Jan Garber and His Orchestra "A Beautiful Lady in Blue" Decca 651 US BB 1936 #17, US #1 for 2 weeks, 14 total weeks 18 Benny Goodman and His Orchestra (Vocal Helen Ward) "It's Been So Long" Victor 25245 US BB 1936 #18, US #1 for 2 weeks, 14 total weeks 19 Benny Goodman and His Orchestra (Vocal Helen Ward) "These Foolish Things Remind Me of You" Victor 25351 US BB 1936 #19, US #1 for 2 weeks, 13 total weeks, Jazz Standards 1935 20 Hal Kemp and His Orchestra "When I'm with You" Brunswick 7681 US BB 1936 #20, US #1 for 2 weeks, 13 total weeks
Classical music
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