This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1937.
The twenty popular records in the United States listed below were extracted from Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890–1954,[8] 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 | "Sweet Leilani" | Decca | US BB 1937 #1, US #1 for 10 weeks, 25 total weeks, 1,000,000 sales[9] | ||||
| 2 | "Once In A While" | Victor | US BB 1937 #2, US #1 for 7 weeks, 14 total weeks, Jazz Standards 1937 | ||||
| 3 | Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra | "The Dipsy Doodle" | Victor | US BB 1937 #3, US #1 for 6 weeks, 15 total weeks | |||
| 4 | "It Looks Like Rain in Cherry Blossom Lane" | Victor | US BB 1937 #4, US #1 for 5 weeks, 16 total weeks | ||||
| 5 | Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians | "Boo Hoo" | Victor | US BB 1937 #5, US #1 for 5 weeks, 12 total weeks | |||
| 6 | Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians | "September in the Rain" | Victor | US BB 1937 #6, US #1 for 4 weeks, 16 total weeks | |||
| 7 | "That Old Feeling" | Bluebird | US BB 1937 #7, US #1 for 4 weeks, 14 total weeks | ||||
| 8 | "Whispers in the Dark" | Decca | US BB 1937 #8, US #1 for 4 weeks, 13 total weeks | ||||
| 9 | Benny Goodman and His Orchestra (Vocal Ella Fitzgerald) | Victor | US BB 1936 #9, US #1 for 4 weeks, 13 total weeks | ||||
| 10 | "The Moon Got in My Eyes" | Decca | US BB 1937 #10, US #1 for 4 weeks, 11 total weeks | ||||
| 11 | "This Year's Kisses"[10] | Brunswick | US BB 1936 #11, US #1 for 4 weeks, 8 total weeks | ||||
| 12 | Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians | "A Sailboat in the Moonlight" | Victor | US BB 1937 #12, US #1 for 3 weeks, 14 total weeks | |||
| 13 | Teddy Wilson and His Orchestra (vocal Billie Holiday) | "Carelessly" | Brunswick | US BB 1937 #13, US #1 for 3 weeks, 12 total weeks | |||
| 14 | Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra | "Satan Takes a Holiday" | Victor | US BB 1937 #14, US #1 for 3 weeks, 11 total weeks | |||
| 15 | Benny Goodman and His Orchestra (Vocal Margaret McCrae) | "This Year's Kisses" | Victor | US BB 1937 #15, US #1 for 3 weeks, 10 total weeks | |||
| 16 | Bing Crosby | Remember Me? | Decca | US BB 1937 #16, US #1 for 3 weeks, 6 total weeks | |||
| 17 | "It's De-Lovely" | Victor | US BB 1936 #17, US #1 for 2 weeks, 13 total weeks | ||||
| 18 | "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down" | Brunswick | US BB 1937 #18, US #1 for 2 weeks, 10 total weeks | ||||
| 19 | Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra | "Marie" | Victor | US BB 1937 #19, US #1 for 2 weeks, 8 total weeks, Grammy Hall of Fame 1998, 150,000 sales[11] | |||
| 20 | Shep Fields and His Rippling Rhythm Orchestra | "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down" | Bluebird | US BB 1937 #20, US #1 for 2 weeks, 8 total weeks | |||
| 21 | "(You Know it All) Smarty" | Victor | US BB 1937 #21, US #1 for 2 weeks, 8 total weeks | ||||
| 22 | Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra | "The Big Apple" | Victor | US BB 1937 #22, US #1 for 2 weeks, 7 total weeks | |||
| 23 | Teddy Wilson and His Orchestra (vocal Billie Holiday) | "You Can't Stop Me from Dreaming" | Brunswick | US BB 1937 #23, US #1 for 2 weeks, 7 total weeks | |||
| 24 | Hal Kemp and His Orchestra | "Where or When" | Brunswick | US BB 1936 #24, US #1 for 1 weeks, 16 total weeks | |||
| 27 | "They Can't Take That Away From Me" | Brunswick | US BB 1937 #27, US #1 for 1 weeks, 11 total weeks, Grammy Hall of Fame 2005, Jazz Standards 1937 | ||||
| 28 | Bing Crosby | Decca | US BB 1937 #28, US #1 for 1 weeks, 10 total weeks | ||||
| 29 | Master | US BB 1937 #60, US #4 for 1 weeks, 18 total weeks, Grammy Hall of Fame 2009, Jazz Standards 1936 |
| Composer | Composition | Date | Location | Performers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta | 1937-01-21 | Basel, Switzerland | Basel Chamber Orchestra – Sacher[12] | |
| Overture to an Italian Comedy | 1937-03-02 | London | [unknown ensemble] – Jacob[13] | |
| Voice in the Wilderness | 1937-01-21 | Los Angeles | Borisoff / Los Angeles Philharmonic – Klemperer[14] | |
| On this Island | 1937-11-19 | London | Wyss, Britten | |
| Reveille | 1937-04-12 | London | Brosa, Reizenstein | |
| Variations on a Theme by Frank Bridge | 1937-08-27 | Salzburg, Austria (Festival) | Boyd Neel Orchestra – Neel | |
| El Salón México | 1937-08-27 | Mexico City | Mexico Symphony – Chávez[15] | |
| Prairie Journal | 1937-07-25 | New York City | Columbia Symphony – Barlow | |
| Tre laudi | 1937-09-08 | Venice (Festival) | Vivante / Grupo Strumentale Italiano – Sanzogno[16] | |
| 1937-03-11 | Budapest | Molnár / [unknown ensemble] – Kenessey[17] | ||
| Danzas Argentinas | 1937-10-27 | Buenos Aires | De Raco | |
| Suite from Panambí | 1937-11-27 | Buenos Aires | [unknown ensemble] – Castro[18] | |
| Psalm 67 (1899) | 1937-05-06 | New York City | The Madrigal Singers – Engel | |
| Romantiques | 1937-03-20 | Paris | Gérar, D'Aleman | |
| Trois Chants des Hommes | 1937-06-04 | Paris | Bastard / Paris Conservatory Concerts Society Orchestra – Modesti | |
| 1937-07-12 | Moscow | Oborin / Moscow Philharmonic – Steinberg[19] | ||
| Fêtes des belles eaux | 1937-07-25 | Paris (Expo 37) | [unknown ensemble] | |
| Poèmes pour Mi | 1937-06-04 | Paris | Bunlet / Paris Conservatory Concerts Society Orchestra – Désormière | |
| Suite provençale | 1937-09-12 | Venice (Festival) | [unknown ensemble] – Milhaud [20] | |
| 1937-12-17 | Moscow | USSR State Symphony – Gauk[21] | ||
| 1937-10-01 | Moscow | USSR State Symphony – Gauk | ||
| Suite No. 2 from Romeo and Juliet | 1937-04-15 | Leningrad | Leningrad Philharmonic – Mravinsky[22] | |
| 1937-02-06 | Paris | Fournier / Concerts Poulet Orchestra – Siohan[23] | ||
| 1937-04-30 | London | BBC Symphony – Boult[24] | ||
| 1937-01-08 | Los Angeles | Kolisch Quartet | ||
| 1937-04-10 | Washington D.C. | Coolidge Quartet[25] | ||
| 1937-11-21 | Leningrad | Leningrad Philharmonic – Mravinsky[26] | ||
| 1937-10-26 | Vienna | Stadlen | ||
See main article: 1937 in jazz.