1921 in music

• 1921 in British music
• 1921 in Norwegian music

• 1921 in country music
• 1921 in jazz

• 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.^[1]
• November – A month before his death, Camille Saint-Saëns, 86, gives a final recital.^[2]
• Clarence Williams makes his first recordings
• Mary Stafford becomes the first black woman to record for Columbia Records
• The 17-string koto, or "JÅ«shichi-gen", is invented by Michio Miyagi.
• Cyril Rootham dedicates his "Suite in Three Movements" for flute and piano to French flautist Louis Fleury.

Ain't We Got Fun?

Ain't We Got Fun?, recorded by Billy Jones in 1921 for Edison Records.

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w. — words, m. — music

• "Ain't We Got Fun?" w.m. Richard A. Whiting, Raymond Egan and Gus Kahn
• "All by Myself" w.m. Irving Berlin
• "And Her Mother Came Too" w. Dion Titheradge m. Ivor Novello
• "Any Time" w.m. Herbert Happy Lawson
• "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 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. Introduced by Al Jolson in the musical Bombo
• "Down Yonder" w.m. L. Wolfe Gilbert
• "Everybody Step" w.m. Irving Berlin

  

• "Hawaiian Chimes" w. Irving Bibo m. Eva Applefield
• I Ain't Nobody's Darling w. Elmer Hughes m. Robert A. King
• "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 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
• "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

  

• "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" w.m. Irving Berlin
• "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 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

The following songs achieved the highest positions in Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954 and record sales reported on the "Discography of American Historical Recordings" website during 1921:^[3] Numerical rankings are approximate, they are only used as a frame of reference.

• Agustín Barrios – La Catedral
• George Enescu – Symphony No. 3 in C major, Op. 21 (revised version)
• Gabriel Fauré
  • Cello Sonata No. 2
  • 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
• Carl Nielsen – Moderen (stage music)
• Henrique 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 in C Major
• Camille Saint-Saëns
  • Oboe Sonata, Op. 166
  • Clarinet Sonata, Op. 167
  • Bassoon Sonata, Op. 168
• Edgard Varèse
  • Offrandes
  • Amériques (1918–21)
• Ralph Vaughan Williams
  • The Lark Ascending, version for violin & orchestra
  • A Pastoral Symphony
• Heitor Villa-Lobos – Fantasia de Movimentos Mistos, for violin & orchestra
• Arnold Schoenberg – Suite for Piano Op. 25
• John Ireland – Two Pieces for Piano

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

• Paul Hindemith – Im Kampf mit dem Berge

"I'm Just Wild About Harry" Instrumental version of "I'm Just Wild About Harry" from the musical Shuffle Along by Noble Sissle & Eubie Blake. Recorded May 17, 1922. Problems playing this file? See media help.

• 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 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
• The Rebel Maid London production opened at the 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 on February 11 and ran for 99 performances. Starring Mabel Withee, Charles Purcell and May Boley.
• Sally, London production opened at the 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
• Sybil, London production opened at Daly's Theatre on February 19 and ran for 346 performances

• 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
  • Carol Channing, musical comedy star (died 2019)
  • Mario Lanza, operatic tenor and film star (died 1959)
• February 5 – Sir John Pritchard, British conductor (died 1989)
• February 13 – Jeanne Demessieux, French organist and composer (died 1968)^[17]
• 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, 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
  • Arthur Grumiaux, violinist (died 1986)
  • 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)^[18]
• April 1
  • Douglas Allanbrook, composer (died 2003)
  • William Bergsma, composer (died 1994)
  • Arthur "Guitar Boogie" Smith, musician and composer (died 2014)
• April 3 – Darío Moreno, Turkish singer and composer (died 1968)^[19]
• April 8
  • Alfie Bass, actor (Tevye in West End production of Fiddler on the Roof) (died 1987)
  • 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)^[20]
• 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, 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)^[21]
• 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, 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, R&B singer (The Dominoes) (died 2002)
• September 21 – Chico Hamilton, jazz drummer (died 2013)
• September 30 – Pedro Knight, Cuban musician, manager (died 2007)
• October 1 – James Whitmore, American actor in film musicals (died 2009)
• October 21
  • Sir Malcolm Arnold, English composer (died 2006)
  • Jarmil Burghauser, Czech conductor, composer and musicologist (died 1997)
• October 23
  • Denise Duval, French soprano (died 2016)
  • Ä°lhan 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)

• January 23 – Władysław Å»eleński, pianist, organist and composer (born 1837)
• February 8
  • George Formby Sr, singer (born 1875; pulmonary tuberculosis)
  • 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, 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, operatic contralto (born 1842)
• August 2 – Enrico Caruso, operatic tenor (born 1873; peritonitis)
• August 8 – Arthur Pougin, music critic (born 1834)
• September 3 – Rosa Linde, contralto^[22]
• September 27
  • Engelbert Humperdinck, composer (born 1854; heart attack)
  • 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)
• November 30 – Henry Behr, founder of the piano manufacturing company, Behr Brothers & Co. (born 1848)^[23]
• December 10 – Victor Jacobi, composer of operettas (born 1883; illness)
• December 16 – Camille Saint-Saëns, composer (born 1835; tuberculosis)
• December 25 – Hans Huber, composer (born 1852)