This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1961.

List of years in music (table)
In radio
1958
1959
1960
1961
1962
1963
1964
In television
1958
1959
1960
1961
1962
1963
1964
+...

Specific locations

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Specific genres

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Events

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Bands formed

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Albums released

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Biggest hit singles

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The following singles achieved the highest chart positions in 1961.

# Artist Title Year Country Chart Entries
1 Ben E King Stand By Me 1961 US UK 1 – Feb 1987, Ireland 1 – Feb 1987, DDD 1 of 1961, RYM 2 of 1961, Switzerland 3 – Mar 1987, US BB 4 – May 1961, Germany 4 – Mar 1987, US BB 7 of 1961, Netherlands 7 – Mar 1987, POP 7 of 1961, Norway 9 – Apr 1987, Scrobulate 14 of soul, Canada 16 – May 1961, Austria 17 – Apr 1987, RIAA 25, US CashBox 43 of 1961, Acclaimed 53, 95 in 2FM list, Italy 96 of 1962, Rolling Stone 121, Germany 235 of the 1980s, Party 269 of 1999, WXPN 746
2 Del Shannon Runaway 1961 US UK 1 – Apr 1961, US BB 1 – Mar 1961, Canada 1 – Mar 1961, Australia 1 for 6 weeks Oct 1960, RYM 1 of 1961, Norway 4 – Jun 1961, DDD 7 of 1961, US CashBox 9 of 1961, Australia Goset 12 – Oct 1967, Australia 15 of 1961, US BB 5 of 1961, POP 17 of 1961, South Africa 18 of 1961, Acclaimed 66, Scrobulate 96 of oldies, Rolling Stone 466
3 Chubby Checker Let's Twist Again 1961 US UK 2 – Dec 1961, Canada 2 – Jul 1961, Norway 2 – Feb 1962, US BB 3 of 1961, Netherlands 3 – Jan 1976, POP 3 of 1961, South Africa 6 of 1962, US BB 8 – Jul 1961, Sweden (alt) 10 – Feb 1976, Austria 11 – Apr 1976, Germany 12 – Mar 1962, RYM 16 of 1961, Italy 17 of 1962, Party 23 of 1999, US CashBox 62 of 1961, DDD 67 of 1961, Scrobulate 95 of oldies, Germany 396 of the 1960s
4 Elvis Presley Surrender 1961 US UK 1 – May 1961, US BB 1 – Feb 1961, Canada 1 – Mar 1961, Australia 1 for 2 weeks Sep 1960, Norway 2 – Apr 1961, Germany 6 – May 1961, South Africa 10 of 1961, US CashBox 32 of 1961, Global 33 (5 M sold) – 1961, RYM 33 of 1961
5 The Marcels Blue Moon 1961 US UK 1 – Apr 1961, US BB 1 – Mar 1961, Canada 1 – Mar 1961, Norway 4 – May 1961, US CashBox 11 of 1961, South Africa 11 of 1961, Germany 13 – Jun 1961, US BB 14 of 1961, DDD 14 of 1961, POP 14 of 1961, RYM 26 of 1961, Acclaimed 1034

Top hits on record

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Other notable songs

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Classical music

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Premieres

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Sortable table
Composer Composition Date Location Performers
Bennett, Richard Rodney Winter Music, for flute and piano 1961-01-08 London Drawing Room of the Arts Council (Park Lane Group) W. Bennett, Bradshaw[7]
Britten, Benjamin Cello Sonata 1961-07-07 Aldeburgh, UK (Festival) Rostropovich, Britten [8]
Chávez, Carlos Soli II 1961-04-23 Washington, D.C., Coolidge Auditorium of the Library of Congress (IA Festival) Philadelphia Wind Quintet[9]
Davidovsky, Mario Choreographic Suite for El payaso 1961-04-29 Washington, D.C., Howard University (IA Festival) Mexico National SymphonyHerrera de la Fuente[10]
Musgrave, Thea Trio for flute, oboe, and piano 1961-01-08 London Drawing Room of the Arts Council (Park Lane Group) Mabillon Trio[7]
Penderecki, Krzysztof Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima 1961-09-22 Warsaw, Poland (Autumn) Kraków PhilharmonicMarkowski[a][11]
Piston, Walter Symphony No. 7 1961-02-10 Philadelphia Philadelphia OrchestraOrmandy[12]
Poulenc, Francis Gloria 1961-01-20 Boston Addison / Chorus Pro Musica, Boston SymphonyMunch[13]
Shostakovich, Dmitri Symphony No. 4 1961-12-30 Moscow Moscow PhilharmonicKondrashin[14]
Stockhausen, Karlheinz Originale, music theatre with Kontakte 1961-10-26 Cologne, Germany (Theater am Dom) Caspari, Tudor, Caskel, Kobayashi, Paik, Helms, Bauermeister, Sommer, Ramsbott, Koch, Knobelsdorff, et al.[15]
  1. ^ The Threnody was first performed in May 1961 by the Polish Radio Symphony conducted by Jan Krenz for a radio recording.

Compositions

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Opera

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Film

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Jazz

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Musical theater

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Musical films

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Births

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Deaths

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Awards

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Grammy Awards

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Eurovision Song Contest

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References

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  1. ^ Robinson, Major (March 2, 1961). "Rock 'N' Roll Idol Jackie Wilson Felled By Fan's Gun". Jet. pp. 60–62.
  2. ^ a b Gross, Nigel; et al. (1999). Collins Gem 1960s. London: HarperCollins. ISBN 0-00-472310-4.
  3. ^ Benjamin, Philip (May 2, 1961). "'All Way Home' Pulitzer Play; Novel Is 'To Kill a Mockingbird'". The New York Times. pp. 1, 40.
  4. ^ Kynaston, David (2014). Modernity Britain: A Shake of the Dice, 1959–62. London: Bloomsbury. p. 345. ISBN 978-1-4088-4439-7.
  5. ^ "Live: Palais Ballroom, Aldershot". The Beatles Bible. December 9, 1961. Retrieved April 2, 2017.
  6. ^ Haydn, Joseph (2007). Konzert in C für Violoncello und Orchester. Clément, Roger (trans.). Kassel: Bärenreiter-Verlag. pp. V–VI. ISMN M-006-20254-6.
  7. ^ a b Anon., "Serial Technique of Young Composers", The Times, no. 54974 (9 January 1961): 3.
  8. ^ White, Eric Walter (January 1, 1983). Benjamin Britten, His Life and Operas. University of California Press. ISBN 9780520048942 – via Google Books.
  9. ^ Carlos Chávez, untitled liner notes to Chávez Conducted by Carlos Chávez: Soli I, Soli II, Soli IV, LP recording. Odyssey Y31534 (New York: Columbia Records, 1972).
  10. ^ Oxford University Press
  11. ^ Sarahwallinhuff.com
  12. ^ "New Music Box" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on May 31, 2015. Retrieved June 24, 2015.
  13. ^ Choeur Proclassica Archived August 1, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
  14. ^ Fay, Laurel E. (January 1, 2000). Shostakovich: A Life. Oxford University Press. p. 225. ISBN 978-0-19-513438-4 – via Internet Archive. symphony 4 shostakovich kondrashin 30 december 1961.
  15. ^ Michael Kurtz, Stockhausen: A Biography, translated by Richard Toop (London and Boston: Faber and Faber, 1992): 116, 252. ISBN 0-571-14323-7 (cloth); ISBN 978-0-571-17146-0 (pbk).
  16. ^ Onno van Rijen's Levitin Page.
  17. ^ "Classical Composers Database: William James Mathias". Retrieved May 15, 2009.
  18. ^ "Classical Composers Database:Alan Rawsthorne". October 17, 2005. Retrieved May 15, 2009.
  19. ^ Notes to Recording of Third String Quartet on cpo.