See also: 1935 in music, other events of 1936, 1937 in music and the list of 'years in music'.

Events

• January 4 - Billboard magazine publishes its first music hit parade
• April 19 - in Barcelona, Alban Berg's Violin Concerto is premiered by Louis Krasner
• Tony Bennett's musical career begins
• Eddie Taylor 's musical career begins
• The Monroe Brothers ' musical careers begin
• Nat King Cole's musical career begins
• Benjamin Britten meets Peter Pears

Published popular music

• "At The Codfish Ball" w. Sidney D. Mitchell m. Sam H. Stept
• "Au Revoir (But Not Goodbye)" w.m. Joe Gilbert
• "Bojangles Of Harlem" w. Dorothy Fields m. Jerome Kern
• "By Strauss" w. Ira Gershwin m. George Gershwin
• "Christopher Columbus" w. Andy Razaf m. Leon Berry
• "Cloudy" Williams
• "Cool Water" w.m. Bob Nolan
• "Does Your Heart Beat For Me?" w. Mitchell Parish m. Russ Morgan
• "Down In The Depths (On The Ninetieth Floor)" w.m. Cole Porter
• "Easy To Love" w.m. Cole Porter
• "Empty Saddles" w. J. Keirn Brennan m. Billy Hill
• "Farewell To Dreams" w. Gus Kahn m. Sigmund Romberg
• "A Fine Romance" w. Dorothy Fields m. Jerome Kern
• "Glad To Be Unhappy" w. Lorenz Hart m. Richard Rodgers
• "Gloomy Sunday" w. (Eng) Sam M. Lewis m. Rezso Seress
• "The Glory Of Love" w.m. Billy Hill
• "Goodnight, Irene" w.m. Huddie "Leadbelly" Ledbetter
• "Goody Goody" w.m. Johnny Mercer & Matty Malneck
• "Has Anybody Seen Our Ship?" w.m. Noël Coward
• "He Ain't Got Rhythm" w.m. Irving Berlin
• "I Can't Escape From You" w.m. Leo Robin & Richard A. Whiting
• "I'm An Old Cow Hand" w.m. Johnny Mercer
• "I'm Putting All My Eggs In One Basket" w.m. Irving Berlin
• "In The Chapel In The Moonlight" w.m. Billy Hill
• "Is It True What They Say About Dixie?" w. Irving Caesar & Sammy Lerner
• "It's A Sin To Tell A Lie" w.m. Billy Mayhew
• "It's De-Lovely" w.m. Cole Porter
• "It's Got To Be Love" w. Lorenz Hart m. Richard Rodgers
• "I've Got A Feeling You're Fooling" w. Arthur Freed m. Nacio Herb Brown
• "I've Got You Under My Skin" w.m. Cole Porter
• "Keep A Twinkle In Your Eye" Johnny Mercer, Rube Bloom
• "Let Yourself Go" w.m. Irving Berlin
• "Let's Call A Heart A Heart" w. Johnny Burke m. Arthur Johnston from the film Pennies From Heaven
• "Let's Face The Music And Dance" w.m. Irving Berlin
• "Life Begins At Forty" Yellen, Shapiro
• "Little Old Lady" w. Stanley Adams m. Hoagy Carmichael
• "The Love Bug Will Bite You" w.m. Pinky Tomlin
• "Moonlight And Shadows" w. Leo Robin m. Frederick Hollander
• "The Most Beautiful Girl In The World" w. Lorenz Hart m. Richard Rodgers
• "Never Gonna Dance" w. Dorothy Fields m. Jerome Kern
• "The Night Is Young And You're So Beautiful" w. Billy Rose & Irving Kahal m. Dana Suesse
• "On The Beach At Bali-Bali" w.m. Al Sherman, Jack Meskill & Abner Silver
• "The One Rose (That's Left In My Heart)" w.m. Del Lyon & Lani McIntyre
• "One, Two, Button Your Shoe" w. Johnny Burke m. Arthur Johnston
• "Oooh! Look-A There, Ain't She Pretty?" w. Clarence Todd m. Carmen Lombardo
• "Organ Grinder's Swing" w. Mitchell Parish & Irving Mills m. Will Hudson
• "Pennies From Heaven" w. Johnny Burke m. Arthur Johnston
• "Pick Yourself Up" w. Dorothy Fields m. Jerome Kern
• "Play, Orchestra, Play" w.m. Noël Coward
• "Poinciana" w. (Sp) Manuel Lliso (Eng) Buddy Bernier m. Nat Simon
• "Poor Little Angeline" w.m. Will Grosz & Jimmy Kennedy
• "Rainbow On The River" w. Paul Francis Webster m. Louis Alter
• "Ridin' High" w.m. Cole Porter
• "San Francisco" w. Gus Kahn m. Bronislaw Kaper & Walter Jurmann
• "Sing Me A Swing Song" w. Stanley Adams m. Hoagy Carmichael
• "Sing, Sing, Sing" w.m. Louis Prima
• "Slaughter On Tenth Avenue" m. Richard Rodgers
• "There's A Bridle Hangin' On The Wall" w.m. Carson Robison
• "There's A Small Hotel" w. Lorenz Hart m. Richard Rodgers
• "To You, Sweetheart, Aloha" w.m. Harry Owens
• "Too Good For The Average Man" w. Lorenz Hart m. Richard Rodgers
• "The Touch Of Your Lips" w.m. Ray Noble
• "Waltz In Swingtime" w. Dorothy Fields m. Jerome Kern
• "The Way You Look Tonight" w. Dorothy Fields m. Jerome Kern
• "We Saw The Sea" w.m. Irving Berlin
• "When A Lady Meets A Gentleman Down South" w.m. Michael Cleary, Jacques Krakeur & David Oppenheim
• "When Did You Leave Heaven?" w. Walter Bullock m. Richard A. Whiting
• "When My Dreamboat Comes Home" w.m. Cliff Friend & Dave Franklin
• "The Window Cleaner" George Formby, Gifford, Cliffe
• "With My Shillelagh Under My Arm" w.m. Billy O'Brien & Raymond Wallace
• "With Plenty Of Money And You" w. Al Dubin m. Harry Warren
• "Would You?" w. Arthur Freed m. Nacio Herb Brown
• "You (Gee But You're Wonderful)" w. Harold Adamson m. Walter Donaldson
• "You Can't Pull The Wool Over My Eyes" w.m. Milton Ager, Charles Newman & Murray Mencher
• "You Gotta S-M-I-L-E To Be H-A-P-P-Y" w.m. Mack Gordon & Harry Revel
• "You Were There" w.m. Noël Coward
• "You'll Have To Swing It" w.m. Sam Coslow

Top hit recordings

• "Alone" by Tommy Dorsey
• "Did I Remember" by Shep Fields
• "A Fine Romance" by Fred Astaire
• "The Glory of Love" by Benny Goodman
• "Goody Goody" by Benny Goodman
• "I'll Sing You A Thousand Love Songs" by Eddy Duchin
• "I'm Putting All My Eggs In One Basket" by Fred Astaire
• "In the Chapel In the Moonlight" by Shep Fields & His Rippling Rhythm
• "Is It True What They Say about Dixie?" by Jimmy Dorsey
• "It's a Sin to Tell a Lie" by Fats Waller
• "Moon Over Miami" by Eddy Duchin
• "The Music Goes Round and Round" by Tommy Dorsey
• "Pennies from Heaven" by Bing Crosby
• "Star Dust" by Benny Goodman & His Orchestra
• "The Way You Look Tonight" by Fred Astaire
• In Italy, "Crapa Pelada" by Alberto Rabagliati

Classical music

• Samuel Barber - Adagio for Strings
• Béla Bartók - Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta
• John Fernström - Clarinet Concerto
• Paul Hindemith - Trauermusik (Funeral Music)
• Aram Khachaturian - Piano Concerto
• Dmitri Shostakovich - Symphony No. 4 C minor, Op. 43 (1935-1936)
• Edgar Varèse - Density 21.5
• Anton Webern - Variations for Piano (1935-1936)
• Percy Whitlock - Sonata for Organ in C minor

Opera

• George Enescu - Oedipe
• Bohuslav Martinu - Divadlo za branou (The Suburban Theater)
• Gian Carlo Menotti - Amelia al Ballo
• Percy Whitlock - Sonata for Organ in C minor

Musical theater

• Balalaika London production
• Careless Rapture (Ivor Novello) - London production
• New Faces Of 1936 Broadway production
• On Your Toes Broadway production
• Red, Hot And Blue Broadway production
• London production
• White Horse Inn Broadway production

Musical films

• Collegiate
• Dancing Pirate
• Follow The Fleet
• The Great Ziegfeld
• Rose-Marie
• Show Boat
• Suzy
• Swing Time

Births

• January 2 - Roger Miller
• January 14 - Clarence Carter
• January 24 - Doug Kershaw
• January 24 - Jack Scott
• February 6 - Donnie Brooks
• February 19 - Bob Engermann , The Lettermen
• February 22 - Ernie K-Doe
• March 9 - Mickey Gilley
• March 26 - Fred Parris , The Five Satins
• April 4 - Margo Sylvia , Tune Weavers
• April 10 - Bobbie Smith , The Spinners
• April 17 - Pete Graves , The Moonglows
• April 22 - Glen Campbell
• April 23 - Roy Orbison
• April 29 - Albee Cracolici , The Mystics
• April 29 - April Stevens
• May 2 - Engelbert Humperdinck
• May 6 - Sylvia Vanderpool Robinson, Mickey & Sylvia
• May 14 - Bobby Darin
• May 25 - Tom T. Hall
• June 6 - Levi Stubbs, The Four Tops
• June 19 - Tommy DeVito, The Four Seasons
• June 19 - Shirley Goodman Shirley & Lee , Shirley & Co.
• June 20 - Billy Guy , The Coasters
• June 22 - Kris Kristofferson
• June 30 - Dave Van Ronk
• July 10 - David Zinman
• August 4 - Elsberry Hobbs , The Drifters
• August 7 - Charles Pope, The Tams
• August 23 - Rudy Lewis , The Drifters
• September 7 - Buddy Holly
• October 3 - James Darren
• October 3 - Steve Reich
• October 5 - George Jones Jr. , The Edsels
• October 7 - Charles Dutoit
• October 24 - Bill Wyman, The Rolling Stones
• November 12 - Charlotte Davis , Tune Weavers
• November 18 - Hank Ballard
• November 18 - Don Cherry
• December 17 - Tommy Steele

Deaths

• January 2 - Harry B. Smith, US songwriter
• March 21 - Alexander Glazunov, composer
• April 7 - Marilyn Miller , US actress, dancer and singer
• November 11 - Sir Edward German, composer
• November 17 - Ernestine Schumann-Heink, contralto