See also: 1931 in music, other events of 1932, 1933 in music and the list of 'years in music'.

Events

• January 14 - Maurice Ravel's Piano Concerto is premiered in Paris
• 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
• Henry Hall becomes Director of the BBC Dance Orchestra .
• Thomas Beecham founds the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

Published popular music

• "After You, Who?" w.m. Cole Porter
• "Alone Together" w. Howard Dietz m. Arthur Schwartz
• "And Love Was Born" w. Oscar Hammerstein II m. Jerome Kern
• "And So To Bed" w. Mack Gordon m. Harry Revel
• "April In Paris" w. E. Y. Harburg m. Vernon Duke
• "As You Desire Me" w.m. Allie Wrubel
• "Auf Wiedersehen, My Dear" w.m. Al Hoffman, Ed G. Nelson, Al Goodhart & Milton Ager
• "Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea" w. Ted Koehler m. Harold Arlen
• "Brother, Can You Spare A Dime?" w. E. Y. Harburg m. Jay Gorney
• "Chinese Laundry Blues" Cottrell
• "The Clouds Will Soon Roll By" w.m. Billy Hill & Harry Woods
• "Dance Of The Cuckoos" w.m. T. Marvin Hatley & Harry Steinberg
• "Darkness On The Delta" w. Marty Symes & Al Neiburg m. Jerry Livingston
• "Eadie Was A Lady" w. B. G. De Sylva m. Richard Whiting & Nacio Herb Brown
• "The Echo Of A Song" Peter Mendoza
• "Eres Tu by" Miguel Sandoval
• "Fit As A Fiddle" w.m. Arthur Freed, Al Hoffman & Al Goodhart
• "The Flies Crawled Up The Window" w.m. Douglas Furber & Vivian Ellis
• "Give Her A Kiss" w. Lorenz Hart m. Richard Rodgers
• "Goodnight Vienna" w.m. Holt Marvell & George Posford
• "Got The South In My Soul" w.m. Ned Washington, Victor Young & Lee Wiley
• "Happy-Go-Lucky You (And Broken-Hearted Me)" w.m. Al Goodhart, Al Hoffman & J. F. Murray
• "Have You Ever Been Lonely?" w. Billy Hill (as George Brown) m. Peter De Rose
• "Here Lies Love" w. Leo Robin m. Ralph Rainger
• "How Deep Is The Ocean?" w.m. Irving Berlin
• "I Don't Stand A Ghost Of A Chance With You" w. Bing Crosby & Ned Washington m. Victor Young
• "I Gotta Right To Sing The Blues" w. Ted Koehler m. Harold Arlen
• "If It Ain't Love" w.m. Andy Razaf, Don Redman & Fats Waller
• "I'll Do My Best To Make You Happy" w.m. Ray Noble
• "I'll Never Be The Same" w. Gus Kahn m. Matty Malneck & Frank Signorelli from the revue After Dinner
• "I'm Getting Sentimental Over You" w. Ned Washington m. George Bassman
• "In A Shanty In Old Shanty Town" w. Joe Young m. Ira Schuster & Jack Little
• "In Egern On The Tegern See" w. Oscar Hammerstein II m. Jerome Kern
• "Isn't It Romantic?" w. Lorenz Hart m. Richard Rodgers
• "It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)" w. Irving Mills m. Duke Ellington
• "It Was So Beautiful" w. Arthur Freed m. Harry Barris
• "I've Got The World On A String" w. Ted Koehler m. Harold Arlen
• "I've Got You On My Mind" w.m. Cole Porter
• "I've Told Every Little Star" w. Oscar Hammerstein II m. Jerome Kern
• "Just An Echo In The Valley" w.m. Harry Woods, Jimmy Campbell & Reg Connelly
• "Keepin' Out Of Mischief Now" w. Andy Razaf m. Fats Waller
• "Lawd, You Made The Night Too Long" w. Sam M. Lewis m. Isham Jones
• "Let's All Sing Like The Birdies Sing" w. Robert Hargreaves & Stanley J. Damerell m. Tolchard Evans & H. Tilsley
• "Let's Call It A Day" w. Lew Brown m. Ray Henderson
• "Let's Have Another Cup Of Coffee" w.m. Irving Berlin
• "Let's Put Out The Lights And Go To Sleep" w.m. Herman Hupfeld
• "A Little Street Where Old Friends Meet" w. Gus Kahn m. Harry Woods
• "Look What You've Done" w. Bert Kalmar & Irving Caesar m. Harry Ruby & Harry Akst
• "Looking On The Bright Side" w.m. Howard Flynn
• "Louisiana Hayride" w. Howard Dietz m. Arthur Schwartz
• "Love Is The Sweetest Thing" w.m. Ray Noble
• "Love Me Tonight" w. Lorenz Hart m. Richard Rodgers
• "Lover" w. Lorenz Hart m. Richard Rodgers
• "Mad About The Boy" w.m. Noel Coward
• "A Million Dreams" w. Gus Kahn m. J. C. Lewis Jr
• "Mimi" w. Lorenz Hart m. Richard Rodgers
• "Mine" w. Ira Gershwin m. George Gershwin
• "Minnie The Moocher's Wedding Day" w. Ted Koehler m. Harold Arlen
• "My Silent Love" w. Edward Heyman m. Dana Suesse
• "My Sweet Virginia" w.m. Vincent Rose
• "Night And Day" w.m. Cole Porter
• "Oh! That Mitzi" w. Leo Robin m. Ralph Rainger
• "Old Yazoo" w. Andy Razaf m. Fats Waller
• "One Hour With You" w. Leo Robin m. Richard A. Whiting
• "The Party's Over Now" w.m. Noel Coward
• "Pink Elephants" w. Mort Dixon m. Harry Woods
• "Play, Fiddle, Play" w. Jack Lawrence m. Emery Deutsch & Arthur Altman
• "Please" w. Leo Robin m. Ralph Rainger
• "The Poor Apache" w. Lorenz Hart m. Richard Rodgers
• "Precious Lord Take My Hand" by Thomas A. Dorsey, first major gospel music hit
• "Pu-leeze! Mr Hemingway" w. Walter Kent & Milton Drake m. Abner Silver
• "Say It Isn't So" w.m. Irving Berlin
• "Sentimental Gentleman From Georgia" w. Mitchell Parish m. Frank Perkins
• "Sleep, Come On And Take Me" w.m. Joe Young & Boyd Bunch
• "Smoke Rings" w. Ned Washington m. Gene Gifford
• "Snuggled On Your Shoulder" w. Joe Young m. Carmen Lombardo
• "So Do I" w. B. G. De Sylva m. Vincent Youmans
• "Soft Lights And Sweet Music" w.m. Irving Berlin
• "The Song Is You" w. Oscar Hammerstein II m. Jerome Kern
• "Street Of Dreams" w. Sam M. Lewis m. Victor Young
• "The Sun Has Got His Hat On" w.m. Ralph Butler & Noel Gay
• "Three's a Crowd" w. Al Dubin & Irving Kahal m. Harry Warren
• "Too Many Tears" w. Al Dubin m. Harry Warren
• "Try A Little Tenderness" w.m. Harry Woods, Jimmy Campbell & Reg Connelly
• "Underneath The Harlem Moon" w. Mack Gordon m. Harry Revel
• "Wanderer" w.m. Bud Flanagan
• "We Just Couldn't Say Goodbye" w.m. Harry Woods
• "We've Got The Moon And Sixpence" Oscar Levant, Clifford Grey
• "We've Got To Put That Sun Back In The Sky" Kahal, Meyer
• "What More Can I Ask?" w. A. E. Wilkins m. Ray Noble
• "What Would You Do?" w. Leo Robin m. Richard A. Whiting
• "Why Don't Women Like Me?" Cottrell, Bennett, Formby
• "Willow Weep For Me" w.m. Ann Ronell
• "Wintergreen For President" w. Ira Gershwin m. George Gershwin
• "You Are Too Beautiful" w. Lorenz Hart m. Richard Rodgers
• "The Younger Generation" w.m. Noel Coward
• "You're An Old Smoothie" w.m. B. G. De Sylva, Richard A. Whiting & Nacio Herb Brown
• "You're Getting To Be A Habit With Me" w. Al Dubin m. Harry Warren
• "You've Got What Gets Me" w. Ira Gershwin m. George Gershwin

Top hit records

• "All Of Me" by Louis Armstrong & His Orchestra; also version by Paul Whiteman & His Orchestra
• "Brother, Can You Spare A Dime?" - Bing Crosby; also version by Rudy Vallee
• "In A Shanty In Old Shanty Town" by Ted Lewis & His Band
• "Please" by Bing Crosby
• "Say It Isn't So" by George Olsen & His Music
• "Was That the Human Thing To Do?" by The Boswell Sisters
• "Where The Blue Of the Night (Meets the Gold of the Day)" by Bing Crosby

Classical music

• Jean Françaix - Piano Concerto
• Gunnar de Frumerie - Variations and Fugue
• Percy Grainger - Handel in the Strand
• Camargo Guarnieri - String Quartet No. 1
• Dmitri Kabalevsky - Symphony No. 1
• László Lajtha - Sonata for Cello and Piano

Opera

• Amy Beach - Cabildo
• Ottorino Respighi - Maria Egiziaca

Musical theater

• After Dinner London revue opened at the Gaiety Theatre on October 21
• L'Auberge Du Cheval Blanc Paris production
• Ball Im Savoy Berlin production
• Casanova London production
• The Cat And The Fiddle London production
• The Dubarry London production and Broadway productions
• Face The Music Broadway production
• Gay Divorce Broadway production
• Show Boat Broadway revival
• Take A Chance Broadway production

Musical films

• Chu Chin Chow
• Girl Crazy
• Love Me Tonight
• The Maid of the Mountains

Births

• January 4 - James F. Arnold , first tenor with the Four Lads
• February 24 - Michel Legrand, composer
• February 26 - Johnny Cash
• March 4 - Miriam Makeba
• March 15 - Arif Mardin, record producer
• April 1 - Debbie Reynolds
• April 8 - Fred Ebb, US lyricist
• April 9 - Carl Perkins
• April 10 - Nathaniel Nelson , The Flamingos
• April 12 - Tiny Tim
• April 26 - Francis Lai, songwriter
• April 27 - Maxine Brown, The Browns
• May 19 - Alma Cogan, English singer
• June 27 - Anna Moffo, soprano
• September 8 - Patsy Cline
• November 15 - Petula Clark
• November 15 - Clyde McPhatter, The Drifters
• November 28 - Ray Perkins, The Crewcuts
• December 5 - Little Richard
• December 12 - Charlie Rich
• December 28 - Dorsey Burnette, Rockabilly pioneer (+ 1979)

Deaths

• March 1 - Frank Teschemacher
• March 6 - John Philip Sousa
• September - Julius Röntgen , composer