This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1944.
Mitzi Gaynor is an American actress, singer, and dancer. Her notable films include There's No Business Like Show Business (1954), The Birds and the Bees (1956), and South Pacific, the 1958 motion picture adaptation of the stage musical by Rodgers and Hammerstein. She is one of the last surviving stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood.
A Man and His Music is a 1965 double album by Frank Sinatra. It provides a brief retrospective of Sinatra's musical career. The album won the 1967 Grammy Award for Album of the Year.
The Complete Capitol Singles Collection is a compact disc box set by the American singer Frank Sinatra, released on Capitol Records in 1996. The four-disc set contains all 45 singles released by Sinatra during his tenure at the label between 1953 and 1961. Of those, 25 made the Top 40 on the Billboard singles chart. It does not include releases specifically for jukeboxes or for extended play singles, with one exception. The original tapes were digitally remastered by Bob Norberg.
"Swinging on a Star" is an American pop standard with music composed by Jimmy Van Heusen and lyrics by Johnny Burke. It was introduced by Bing Crosby in the 1944 film Going My Way, winning an Academy Award for Best Original Song that year, and has been recorded by numerous artists since then. In 2004, it finished at No. 37 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs survey of top tunes in American cinema.
The Complete Reprise Studio Recordings is a 1995 box set album by the American singer Frank Sinatra. The release coincided with Sinatra's 80th birthday celebration.
"Pennies from Heaven" is a 1936 American popular song with music by Arthur Johnston and lyrics by Johnny Burke. It was introduced by Bing Crosby with Georgie Stoll and his Orchestra in the 1936 film of the same name.
"(Love Is) The Tender Trap" is a popular song composed by Jimmy Van Heusen, with lyrics by Sammy Cahn.
"I Love Paris" is a popular song written by Cole Porter and published in 1953. The song was introduced by Lilo in the musical Can-Can. A line in the song's lyrics inspired the title of the 1964 movie Paris When It Sizzles.
"Lazy" is a popular song written by Irving Berlin in 1924. Popular recordings of the song in 1924 were by Al Jolson, Blossom Seeley, Paul Whiteman and the Brox Sisters. The best known version today may be that performed by Marilyn Monroe, Donald O'Connor, and Mitzi Gaynor in the motion picture There's No Business Like Show Business.
Merry Christmas is a compilation album by Bing Crosby that was released in 1945 on Decca Records. It has remained in print through the vinyl, CD, and downloadable file eras, currently as the disc and digital album White Christmas on MCA Records, a part of the Universal Music Group, and currently on vinyl as Merry Christmas on Geffen Records. It includes Crosby's signature song "White Christmas", the best-selling single of all time with estimated sales of over 50 million copies worldwide. The album was certified 4× Platinum by RIAA for selling over 4 million copies in United States. The original 1945 release and subsequent re-releases and re-packages spent a total of 39 weeks at no. 1 on the Billboard pop albums chart.
Anything Goes is a 1956 American musical film directed by Robert Lewis, and starring Bing Crosby, Donald O'Connor, Zizi Jeanmaire, and Mitzi Gaynor. Adapted from the 1934 stage musical Anything Goes by Cole Porter, Guy Bolton, and P.G. Wodehouse, the film is about two entertainers scheduled to appear in a Broadway show who travel to Europe, where each discovers the perfect leading lady for the female role. Bing Crosby's character, Bill Benson, goes to England and meets Mitzi Gaynor's character Patsy Blair, and he signs her as the female lead. Meanwhile, Donald O'Connor's character, Ted Adams, travels to France and meets Jeanmaire's character, Gaby Duval, and he signs her to the same role. On the return voyage, with each man having brought his leading lady along, the Atlantic becomes a stormy crossing when each man must tell his discovery that she might not get the role.
Robin and the 7 Hoods is a 1964 12" vinyl LP album originally issued by Reprise as No. F-2021. Wrongly assumed to be a true soundtrack album of the film Robin and the 7 Hoods, it was advertised as "Original score from the motion picture musical comedy" which is correct. The film was made in November/December 1963 and the album was subsequently recorded at United Recording, Hollywood, in April 1964. The scene with Frank Sinatra's vocal of "I Like to Lead When I Dance" was dropped, so only the background instrumental can be heard in the film.
Sinatra 80th: All the Best is a double compilation disc album by Frank Sinatra. On the final track, "The Christmas Song" is recorded both by Sinatra and Nat King Cole. The title, like the previous album, was released and named to coincide with Frank Sinatra's birthday, as he was celebrating his 80th at the time.
High Tor is a soundtrack album featuring Bing Crosby, Julie Andrews and Everett Sloane. It was primarily taken from the soundtrack of the Ford Star Jubilee TV film aired on March 10, 1956 by CBS. A musical adaptation of Maxwell Anderson’s play of the same name, the soundtrack album was released in 1956 by Decca Records, and the album was later issued on CD by Stage Door Records in 2017.
Say One for Me is a soundtrack album issued by Columbia Records from the film of the same name. See Say One for Me for the film. The film starred Bing Crosby, Debbie Reynolds, Robert Wagner and Ray Walston. Lionel Newman conducted the musical backing for the film and he was nominated for an Oscar for "Best Scoring of a Musical Picture" but was unsuccessful. All the songs were written by Jimmy Van Heusen (music) and Sammy Cahn (lyrics). The version of "The Secret of Christmas" included on the album was not the one from the actual film. The soundtrack version had Robert Wagner and Debbie Reynolds joining Bing for a few lines. Instead, Bing recorded the song again on March 25, 1959 with Frank De Vol and his Orchestra.
The Road to Hong Kong is a soundtrack album issued by Liberty Records from the film of the same name. The film starred Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Joan Collins and Robert Morley with cameos from Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Dorothy Lamour, Peter Sellers and David Niven. Robert Farnon conducted the music for the film. All the songs were written by Jimmy Van Heusen (music) and Sammy Cahn (lyrics). Robert Farnon wrote four orchestral pieces for the soundtrack and these are annotated in the listing.
"It's Always You" is a song written by Jimmy Van Heusen (music) and Johnny Burke (lyrics) for the 1941 film Road to Zanzibar. In the film it was sung by Bing Crosby to Dorothy Lamour as they paddled a canoe up a jungle river. It was also used briefly in a comedy scene in the film as a quasi-requiem for Lamour's character, who was erroneously thought to have been killed by a leopard.
Top o' the Morning / Emperor Waltz is a Decca Records studio album of phonograph records by Bing Crosby of songs from his movies Top o' the Morning and The Emperor Waltz, catalog number DL 5272.
Road to Bali is a Decca Records studio album by Bing Crosby, Bob Hope and Peggy Lee of songs featured in the film Road to Bali released in 1952. All of the songs were written by Jimmy Van Heusen (music) and Johnny Burke (lyrics). The songs were featured on a 10” vinyl LP numbered DL 5444 and in a 3-disc 45rpm box set numbered 9-375.
