1932 in music

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1932 in music
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This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1932.

Specific locations[edit]

Specific genres[edit]

Events[edit]

  • 1932 marked the lowest trough the recording industry would experience during the Great Depression. In the United States, revenues went from 104 million units in 1927 to 6 million in 1932.[1]
  • January 14 – Maurice Ravel's Piano Concerto in G is premièred in Paris.
  • February 3–9 – Duke Ellington and his Orchestra record 2 medleys for Victor at 33+1⁄3 rpm. Over half a century later it is discovered that 2 microphone-to-cutting table chains were used, and that the session exists in "accidental stereo."
  • May 1 – The music to John Alden Carpenter's ballet Skyscrapers is recorded by the Victor Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Nathaniel Shilkret; in addition to be being issued as six sides on 78 rpm discs, the recording is made available as one Victor's early 33+1⁄3 rpm LP releases.
  • July 1 – The very young Eddie Duchin and his Central Park Casino Orchestra, and the Three X Sisters aka, Hamilton Sisters & Fordyce record The Clouds Will Soon Roll By for Columbia records.
  • July 7 – Benny Carter's orchestra first records. Crown Records rejects all but one title, "Tell All You Daydreams to Me."
  • August 15 – First successful electrical re-recording, directed by Nathaniel Shilkret, of an orchestral accompaniment of a Victor recording by Enrico Caruso.
  • October 2 – Charles Seeger is divorced from his first wife, Constance de Clyver Edson. He subsequently marries composer Ruth Crawford.[2]
  • October 7 – The London Philharmonic Orchestra, recently founded by Thomas Beecham, gives its first public concert.
  • October 13 – Isham Jones and the Three X Sisters record at New York Studio No.1. Several songs utilized for RCA Victor were labeled "experimental" as this blues era band-leader was fusing new arrangements, and an idea that would later influence part of the Swing era.
  • October 19 – Frankie Laine and Ruthie Smith set the all-time dance marathon record of 3,501 hours (145 days) at the Million Dollar Pier in Atlantic City, New Jersey
  • October 31 – Sergei Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 5 is premiered in Berlin
  • December 13 – Bennie Moten's Kansas City Orchestra make their last record date for Victor. It becomes a singular example of early swing music.
  • Henry Hall becomes Director of the BBC Dance Orchestra.
  • Sydney Symphony comes into existence.

Published popular music[edit]

Top Popular Recordings 1932[edit]

1932 marked the lowest trough the recording industry would experience during the Great Depression, as the record industry struggled for its existence. Only Victor, ARC (which added Brunswick) and Columbia released records, and Columbia would be in bankruptcy by 1934. In the United States, revenues went from 104 million units in 1927 to 6 million in 1932,[1] and did not start to rebound until 1937. The top selling records of 1929 ranged from $500,000 and up, fell under $100,000 in 1930, $60k in 1931 and $20k in 1932, where they stayed for several years. Keep this in mind when reviewing sales figures. You may also notice less artists and records. Record companies were afraid of taking more losses, such as gambling on new artists and new styles. Three of the six top selling 10" 78s were recorded by Jimmie Rodgers, who would die of Tuberculosis in May 1933. They can be found on the 1932 Country (Hillbilly) page.

The top popular records of 1932 listed below were compiled from Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890–1954,[3] record sales reported on the "Discography of American Historical Recordings" website, and other sources as specified. Numerical rankings are approximate, there were no Billboard charts in 1932, the numbers are only used for a frame of reference.

Rank Artist Title Label Recorded Released Chart Positions
1 Ted Lewis and His Band "In a Shanty in Old Shanty Town"[4] Columbia 2652-D March 15, 1932 (1932-03-15) May 1932 (1932-05) US Billboard 1932 #1, US #1 for 10 weeks, 22 total weeks[3]
2 Bing Crosby "Please"[5] Brunswick 6394 September 16, 1932 (1932-09-16) October 1932 (1932-10) US Billboard 1932 #3, US #1 for 6 weeks, 16 total weeks
3 Leo Reisman and His Orchestra (vocal Frances Maddux) "Paradise"[6] Victor 22904 December 28, 1931 (1931-12-28) January 13, 1932 (1932-01-13) US Billboard 1932 #2, US #1 for 6 weeks, 17 total weeks
4 Leo Reisman and His Orchestra "The Night Was Made for Love"[7] Victor 22869 November 24, 1931 (1931-11-24) December 1931 (1931-12) US Billboard 1932 #4, US #10 for 1 week, 4 total weeks, 17,010 sales[8]
5 Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians "We Just Couldn't Say Goodbye"[5] Brunswick 6350 July 27, 1932 (1932-07-27) August 1932 (1932-08) US Billboard 1932 #5, US #1 for 5 weeks, 8 total weeks
6 Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra (vocal Mildred Bailey) "All of Me"[9] Victor 22879 December 1, 1931 (1931-12-01) December 15, 1931 (1931-12-15) US Billboard 1932 #6, US #1 for 3 weeks, 10 total weeks, 12,161 sales[10]
7 Louis Armstrong and His Orchestra "All of Me"[11] Okeh 41552 January 27, 1932 (1932-01-27) February 1932 (1932-02) US Billboard 1932 #7, US #1 for 2 weeks, 18 total weeks, Grammy Hall of Fame 2005
8 Peter Van Steeden and His Orchestra "Home"[12] Victor 22868 November 25, 1931 (1931-11-25) December 1931 (1931-12) US Billboard 1932 #8, US #2 for 3 weeks, 8 total weeks, 12,960 sales[13]
9 Jimmie Rodgers "Roll Along, Kentucky Moon" Victor 23651 February 2, 1932 (1932-02-02) April 8, 1932 (1932-04-08) US Billboard 1932 #9, US #18 for 1 week, US Hillbilly 1932 #4, 12,448 sales[14]
10 Ted Black and His Orchestra "In a Shanty in Old Shanty Town"[15] Victor 24050 June 22, 1932 (1932-06-22) July 1932 (1932-07) US Billboard 1932 #10, US #2 for 2 weeks, 7 total weeks, 12,396 sales[16]
11 Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians "Paradise"[5] Brunswick 6290 April 14, 1932 (1932-04-14) April 1932 (1932-04) US Billboard 1932 #11, US #1 for 3 weeks, 10 total weeks
12 Bing Crosby "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?"[5] Brunswick 6414 October 25, 1932 (1932-10-25) November 1932 (1932-11) US Billboard 1932 #12, US #1 for 2 weeks, 10 total weeks, National Recording Registry 2013, Grammy Hall of Fame 2005
13 Paul Whiteman and His Orchestra (Vocal Ramona) "Let's Put Out the Lights (and Go to Sleep)"[17] Victor 24140 September 26, 1932 (1932-09-26) October 1, 1932 (1932-10-01) US Billboard 1932 #13, US #2 for 1 week, 6 total weeks, 11,942 sales[18]
14 Bing Crosby and The Mills Brothers "Dinah"[5] Brunswick 6240 December 16, 1931 (1931-12-16) January 2, 1932 (1932-01-02) US Billboard 1932 #14, US #1 for 2 weeks, 10 total weeks
15 Bing Crosby with Isham Jones Orchestra "Sweet Georgia Brown"[5] Brunswick 6320 April 23, 1932 (1932-04-23) May 1932 (1932-05) US Billboard 1932 #15, US #2 for 3 weeks, 10 total weeks
16 Kate Smith with Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians "River Stay 'Way from My Door"[19] Columbia 2578 December 8, 1931 (1931-12-08) December 1931 (1931-12) US Billboard 1932 #16, US #1 for 2 weeks, 10 total weeks
17 George Olsen and His Music "Lullaby of the Leaves"[20] Victor 22998 April 14, 1932 (1932-04-14) May 1, 1932 (1932-05-01) US Billboard 1932 #17, US #1 for 2 weeks, 10 total weeks, 11,101 sales[21]
18 Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians "Too Many Tears"[5] Brunswick 6261 January 16, 1932 (1932-01-16) February 15, 1932 (1932-02-15) US Billboard 1932 #18, US #1 for 2 weeks, 9 total weeks
19 George Olsen and His Music "Say it Isn't So"[22] Victor 24124 September 2, 1932 (1932-09-02) September 1932 (1932-09) US Billboard 1932 #19, US #1 for 2 weeks, 9 total weeks, 10,870 sales[23]
20 Rudy Vallee and His Connecticut Yankees "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?"[24] Columbia 2725-D October 27, 1932 (1932-10-27) November 1932 (1932-11) US Billboard 1932 #20, US #1 for 2 weeks, 8 total weeks, National Recording Registry 2013
21 Jimmie Grier and the Cocoanut Grove Orchestra (vocal Donald Novis) "One Hour with You"[25] Victor 22971 March 28, 1932 (1932-03-28) April 1932 (1932-04) US Billboard 1932 #21, US #2 for 3 weeks, 11 total weeks, 10,342 sales[26]
22 Rudy Vallee and His Connecticut Yankees I Guess I'll Have to Change My Plan[27] Columbia 2700-D August 11, 1932 (1932-08-11) August 1932 (1932-08) US Billboard 1932 #22, US #2 for 3 weeks, 10 total weeks

Top blues recordings[edit]

Classical music[edit]

  • Henk Badings
    • Symphony for 16 soloists
    • Symphony No. 2
  • Arnold Bax
    • Concerto for Cello and Orchestra
    • Sinfonietta
    • Sonata No. 4, for piano
    • Summer Music, for orchestra (revised version)
    • Symphony No. 5
    • "Watching the Needleboats", for voice and piano (text by James Joyce)
  • Arthur Benjamin – Violin Concerto
  • Marc Blitzstein
    • The Condemned, choral opera in one act
    • Serenade, for string quartet
  • John Cage – Greek Ode, for voice and piano (text from Aeschylus' The Persians)
  • Carlos Chávez
    • Antígona (incidental music for the adaptation by Jean Cocteau of the tragedy by Sophocles)
    • Caballos de vapor (H.P., sinfonía de baile)
    • String Quartet No. 2
    • Tierra mojada (for mixed choir, oboe, and cor anglais (text by R. López Velarde)
    • "Todo", for voice and piano (text by R. López Velarde)
  • Henry Cowell
    • Expressivo, for piano
    • Four Continuations, for string orchestra
    • Reel (Lilt of the Reel), for small orchestra
    • Rhythm Study, for piano
    • Two Appositions, for piano
    • Two Appositions: One Movement for Orchestra
  • Ruth Crawford Seeger
    • Ricercari (2), for voice and piano (text by H. T. Tsiang)
    • Songs (3), for alto voice, oboe, percussion, piano, and optional orchestra (texts by Carl Sandburg)
  • Jean Françaix – Piano Concerto
  • Gunnar de Frumerie – Variations and Fugue
  • George Gershwin – Cuban Overture, for orchestra
  • Peggy Glanville-Hicks
    • Fantasy, for solo violin
    • "He Reproves the Curlew", for voice and piano (text by William Butler Yeats)
    • Prelude for a Pensive Pupil, for piano
    • "Sheiling Song", for voice and piano (text by F. MacLeod)
    • "They Are Not Long", for voice and piano (text by Ernest Dowson)
    • "To the Moon", for voice and piano (text by Percy Bysshe Shelley)
    • "A Widow Bird", for voice and piano (text by Percy Bysshe Shelley)
  • Percy Grainger – Handel in the Strand
  • Camargo Guarnieri – String Quartet No. 1
  • Alois Hába
    • Children's Choruses (5), in quarter tones, Op. 42 (texts by V. Nezval)
    • Children's Choruses, in quarter tones, Op. 43
    • Fantazie No. 2, for nonet, Op. 41
    • Pracující den, for male choir, in quarter tones, Op. 45 (text by J. Hora)
  • Jascha Heifetz – arrangement of Grigoraş Dinicu's Hora staccato
  • Gustav Holst
    • "If 'twer the Time of Lilies", for two-part choir and piano, H187
    • Jazz-Band Piece
    • Jig, for piano, H179
  • John Ireland – A Downland Suite
  • Dmitri Kabalevsky – Symphony No. 1
  • Ernst Krenek – Kantate von der Vergänglichkeit des Irdischen, for soprano, mixed choir, and piano, Op. 72 (texts by P. Fleming, A. Gryphius, and other 17th-century German writers)
  • László Lajtha – Cello Sonata
  • Nikolai Myaskovsky – Symphony No. 11
  • Harry Partch – "The Lord Is My Shepherd" (Psalm XXIII), for voice and adapted viola
  • Paul Pisk
    • Campanella, cantata for voice and orchestra, Op. 28 (text after 11 poems of the Monk [Luitpold])
    • Little Suite, for chamber orchestra, Op. 11a
  • Sergei Prokofiev –
  • Ottorino Respighi – Huntingtower, for large wind band, P. 173
  • Silvestre Revueltas
  • Miklós Rózsa – Bagatelles for Piano, Op. 12
  • Arnold Schoenberg
    • Mirror Canon, for string quartet
    • Mirror Canon in four parts, for Carl Moll
    • Moses und Aron, opera in 3 acts (Act 3 not composed)
  • William Schuman
  • Dmitri Shostakovich
    • Hamlet (incidental music for the play by William Shakespeare), Op. 32
    • Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District, opera in four acts, Op. 29
    • Six Romances, for tenor and orchestra, Op. 21
    • Twenty-Four Preludes, for piano, Op. 34
    • Vstrechnïy (music for the film directed by F. Ermler and Yutkevich), Op. 33
  • Igor Stravinsky
    • Chants du rossignol et Marche chinoise, for violin and piano (arranged from The Nightingale)
    • Danse russe, for violin and piano
    • Duo concertant, for violin and piano
    • Scherzo, for violin and piano [arr. from The Firebird]
    • Suite italienne, for cello and piano (arranged from Pulcinella)
    • Suite italienne, for violin and piano (arranged from Pulcinella)
    • Simvol verï, for SATB choir
  • Virgil Thomson
    • String Quartet No. 2
    • Symphony No. 2 (arrangement for piano, four hands)
  • Joaquín Turina
    • Homenaje a Tárrega, Op. 69, for guitar
    • Silhouettes, Op. 70, for piano
    • Mujeres españolas, Series 2 Op. 73, for piano
    • Vocalizaciones, Op. 74, for soprano and piano
  • Ivan Wyschnegradsky – Prelude and Fugue, for two pianos tuned a quarter tone apart, Op. 21

Opera[edit]

Film[edit]

Jazz[edit]

Main article: 1932 in jazz

Musical theater[edit]

Musical films[edit]

Births[edit]

Deaths[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Russell, Will. "The Great Depression and Music: From Woody Guthrie To Coronavirus". Hotpress. Retrieved April 17, 2022.
  2. ^ Ann M. Pescatello, Charles Seeger: A Life in American Music, p108
  3. ^ a b Whitburn, Joel (1986). Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890–1954. Record Research.
  4. ^ "Columbia matrix W152137. In a shanty in old Shanty Town / Ted Lewis and his Band - Discography of American Historical Recordings". adp.library.ucsb.edu. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g "BRUNSWICK 78rpm numerical listing discography: 6000 - 6500". www.78discography.com. Retrieved April 16, 2022.
  6. ^ "Victor matrix BRC-71205. Paradise / Leo Reisman Orchestra ; Frances Maddux - Discography of American Historical Recordings". adp.library.ucsb.edu. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  7. ^ "Victor matrix BRC-70940. The night was made for love / Leo Reisman Orchestra - Discography of American Historical Recordings". adp.library.ucsb.edu. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  8. ^ "Victor 22869 (Black label (popular) 10-in. double-faced) - Discography of American Historical Recordings". adp.library.ucsb.edu. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
  9. ^ "Victor matrix BVE-70636. All of me / Mildred Bailey ; Paul Whiteman Orchestra - Discography of American Historical Recordings". adp.library.ucsb.edu. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  10. ^ "Victor 22879 (Black label (popular) 10-in. double-faced) - Discography of American Historical Recordings". adp.library.ucsb.edu. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
  11. ^ "Columbia matrix W152092. All of me / Louis Armstrong Orchestra - Discography of American Historical Recordings". adp.library.ucsb.edu. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  12. ^ "Victor matrix BRC-69910. Home / Peter Van Steeden Orchestra ; Dick Robertson". Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved December 14, 2022.
  13. ^ "Victor 22868 (Black label (popular) 10-in. double-faced)". Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved December 14, 2022.
  14. ^ "Victor 23651 (Black label (popular) 10-in. double-faced) - Discography of American Historical Recordings". adp.library.ucsb.edu. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
  15. ^ "Victor matrix BSHQ-73029. In a shanty in old Shanty Town / Chick Bullock ; Ted Black Orchestra". Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved December 14, 2022.
  16. ^ "Victor 24050 (Black label (popular) 10-in. double-faced)". Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved December 14, 2022.
  17. ^ "Victor matrix BS-73581. Let's put out the lights (And go to sleep) / Paul Whiteman Orchestra ; Ramona - Discography of American Historical Recordings". adp.library.ucsb.edu. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  18. ^ "Victor 24140 (Black label (popular) 10-in. double-faced) - Discography of American Historical Recordings". adp.library.ucsb.edu. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
  19. ^ "Columbia matrix W152032. River, stay 'way from my door / Guy Lombardo ; Royal Canadians ; Kate Smith - Discography of American Historical Recordings". adp.library.ucsb.edu. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  20. ^ "Victor matrix BRC-72287. Lullaby of the leaves / George Olsen and his Music - Discography of American Historical Recordings". adp.library.ucsb.edu. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  21. ^ "Victor 22998 (Black label (popular) 10-in. double-faced) - Discography of American Historical Recordings". adp.library.ucsb.edu. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
  22. ^ "Victor matrix BS-73355. Say it isn't so / George Olsen and his Music ; Paul Small - Discography of American Historical Recordings". adp.library.ucsb.edu. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  23. ^ "Victor 24124 (Black label (popular) 10-in. double-faced) - Discography of American Historical Recordings". adp.library.ucsb.edu. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
  24. ^ "Columbia matrix W152312. Brother, can you spare a dime? / Connecticut Yankees ; Rudy Vallée - Discography of American Historical Recordings". adp.library.ucsb.edu. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  25. ^ "Victor matrix PBVE-68346. One hour with you / Cocoanut Grove Orchestra ; Jimmie Grier ; Donald Novis". Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved December 14, 2022.
  26. ^ "Victor 22971 (Black label (popular) 10-in. double-faced)". Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved December 14, 2022.
  27. ^ "Columbia matrix W152257. Cambiaré mi plan / Connecticut Yankees ; Rudy Vallée - Discography of American Historical Recordings". adp.library.ucsb.edu. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  28. ^ Bock, Hans-Michael & Bergfelder, Tim. The Concise CineGraph. Encyclopedia of German Cinema. Berghahn Books, 2009. Page 272.
  29. ^ Mitchell, Charles P. The Great Composers Portrayed on Film, 1913 through 2002. McFarland, 2004. Page 172
  30. ^ Oliver Leaman (December 16, 2003). Companion Encyclopedia of Middle Eastern and North African Film. Routledge. pp. 109–. ISBN 978-1-134-66252-4.
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