See also: 1930 in music, other events of 1931, 1932 in music and the list of 'years in music'.

Events

• Roy Rogers' musical career begins
• Mary Garden retires from the Chicago Opera
• Alberto Rabagliati's singing career begins

Published popular music

• "Adios" w. Eddie Wood m. Enric Madriguera
• "All Of Me" w.m. Seymour Simons & Gerald Marks
• "As Time Goes By" w.m. Herman Hupfeld
• "At Your Command" w.m. Harry Barris, Bing Crosby & Harry Tobias
• "Black Jazz" m. Gene Gifford
• "Blah, Blah, Blah" w. Ira Gershwin m. George Gershwin
• "Blues In My Heart" w. Irving Mills m. Benny Carter
• "Brighter Than The Sun" w. Anona Winn m. Ray Noble
• "By The River Sainte Marie" w. Edgar Leslie m. Harry Warren
• "Call Me Darling, Call Me Sweetheart, Call Me Dear" w. (Eng) Dorothy Dick w.m. Bert Reisfeld, Mart Fryberg & Rolf Marbet
• "Close Your Eyes" w.m. Bernice Petkere
• "Come To Me" w. B. G. De Sylva & Lew Brown m. Ray Henderson
• "Concentratin' On You" w. Andy Razaf m. Fats Waller
• "Crosby, Columbo And Vallee" w. Al Dubin m. Joe Burke
• "Cuban Love Song" w.m. Dorothy Fields, Jimmy McHugh & Herbert Stothart
• "Dancing In The Dark" w. Howard Dietz m. Arthur Schwartz
• "Delishious" w. Ira Gershwin m. George Gershwin
• "Doin' What I Please" Waller, Razaf
• "Down Sunnyside Lane" Jimmy Campbell, Reg Connelly
• "Dream A Little Dream Of Me" w. Gus Kahn m. Fabian Andre & Wilbur Schwandt
• "An Evening In Caroline" w.m. Walter Donaldson
• "A Faded Summer Love" w.m. Phil Baxter
• "Goodnight, Sweetheart" w.m. Ray Noble, James Campbell & Reg Connelly
• "Got A Date With An Angel" w. Clifford Grey & Sonny Miller m. Jack Waller & Joseph Tunbridge
• "Got The Bench, Got The Park" w.m. Al Sherman, Al Lewis & Fred Phillips
• "Green Eyes" w. (Eng) E. Rivera & Eddie Woods (Sp) Adolfo Utrero m. Nilo Menendez
• "Guilty" w. Gus Kahn m. Richard A. Whiting & Harry Akst
• "Hang Out The Stars In Indiana" w. Billy Moll m. Harry Woods
• "He Played His Ukulele As The Ship Went Down" w.m. Arthur LeClerq
• "Heartaches" w. John Clenner m. Al Hoffman
• "Hold My Hand" w. Douglas Furber m. Noel Gay
• "Home" w.m. Peter Van Steeden, Harry Clarkson & Geoff Clarkson
• "Hoops" w. Howard Dietz m. Arthur Schwartz
• "I Apologise" w.m. Al Hoffman, Al Goodhart & Ed Nelson
• "I Don't Know Why" w. Roy Turk m. Fred E. Ahlert
• "I Found A Million Dollar Baby (In A Five And Ten Cent Store)" w. Billy Rose & Mort Dixon m. Harry Warren
• "I Heard" w.m. Don Redman
• "I Love Louisa" w. Howard Dietz m. Arthur Schwartz
• "I Surrender, Dear" w. Gordon Clifford m. Harry Barris
• "If You Should Ever Need Me" w. Al Dubin m. Joe Burke
• "I'll Be Good Because Of You" w.m. Ray Noble & Alan Murray
• "I'm All Dressed Up With A Broken Heart" Fisher, Unger, Stern
• "I'm Crazy 'Bout My Baby" w. Alex Hill m. Fats Waller
• "I'm Gonna Get You" w.m. Gus Arnheim, Harry Tobias & Jules Lemare
• "I'm Good For Nothing But Love" Ballard, Maltin
• "I'm Through With Love" w. Gus Kahn m. Matty Malneck & Fud Livingston
• "It's The Darndest Thing" w. Dorothy Fields m. Jimmy McHugh
• "It's The Girl" w. Dave Oppenheim m. Abel Baer
• "It's You!" Razaf, Waller
• "I've Got Five Dollars" w. Lorenz Hart m. Richard Rodgers
• "Jazz Nocturne" m. Dana Suesse
• "Just One More Chance" w. Sam Coslow m. Arthur Johnston
• "Kicking The Gong Around" w. Ted Koehler m. Harold Arlen
• "Lady Of Spain" w.m. Robert Hargreaves, Tolchard Evans, Stanley J. Damerell & Henry J. Tilsley
• "Life Is Just A Bowl Of Cherries" w. B. G. De Sylva & Lew Brown m. Ray Henderson
• "Little Girl" w.m. Madeline Hyde & Francis Henry
• "Love Is Sweeping The Country" w. Ira Gershwin m. George Gershwin
• "Love Letters In The Sand" w. Nick Kenny & Charles Kenny m. J. Fred Coots
• "Lullaby Of The Leaves" w. Joe Young m. Bernice Petkere
• "Mad Dogs And Englishmen" w.m. Noel Coward
• "Makin' Faces At The Man In The Moon" w.m. Max Rich, Kate Smith, Al Hoffman & Ned Washington
• "Mama Inez" w. (Eng) L. Wolfe Gilbert m. Eliseo Grenet
• "Maria, My Own" w. (Eng) L. Wolfe Gilbert m. Ernesto Lacuona
• "Marta" w. (Eng) L. Wolfe Gilbert m. Moises Simons
• "Mausie" w. (Eng) Harry Graham m. Paul Abraham
• "Me!" w.m. Irving Berlin
• "Minnie The Moocher" w.m. Cab Calloway, Clarence Gaskill & Irving Mills
• "Mood Indigo" w.m. Duke Ellington, Barney Bigard & Irving Mills
• "Moonlight Saving Time" w.m. Irving Kahal & Harry Richman
• "My Canary Has Circles Under His Eyes" Koehler, Pola, Golden
• "My Song" w. Lew Brown m. Ray Henderson
• "Nevertheless" w. Bert Kalmar m. Harry Ruby
• "Now's The Time To Fall In Love" w.m. Al Sherman & Al Lewis
• "Of Thee I Sing" w. Ira Gershwin m. George Gershwin
• "Oh, Monah" w.m. Ted Weems & Joe "Country" Washburn
• "Ooh That Kiss" w. Mort Dixon & Joe Young m. Harry Warren
• "Out Of Nowhere" w. Edward Heyman m. John Green
• "Paradise" w. Nacio Herb Brown & Gordon Clifford m. Nacio Herb Brown
• "Penthouse Serenade (When We're Alone)" w.m. Will Jason & Val Burton
• "Pied Piper Of Hamelin" w.m. Noel Gay
• "Poor Pierrot" w. Otto Harbach m. Jerome Kern
• "Popeye The Sailor Man" w.m. Sammy Lerner
• "Prisoner Of Love" w. Leo Robin m. Russ Columbo & Clarence Gaskill
• "River, Stay 'Way From My Door" w. Mort Dixon m. Harry Woods
• "Roll On, Mississippi, Roll On" w.m. James McCaffrey, Eugene West & Dave Ringle
• "Running Between The Raindrops" w. James Dyrenforth m. Carroll Gibbons
• "Sally" w.m. William Haines, Harry Leon & Leo Towers
• "Shadrack" w.m. Robert MacGimsey
• "She Didn't Say "Yes"" w. Otto Harbach m. Jerome Kern
• "Smile, Darn Ya, Smile" w. Charles O'Flynn & Jack Meskill m. Max Rich
• "Sweet And Lovely" w.m. Gus Arnheim, Harry Tobias & Jules Lemare
• "Thanks To You" w. Grant Clarke m. Pete Wendling
• "That Silver Haired Daddy Of Mine" w.m. Jimmy Long & Gene Autry
• "That's My Desire" w. Carroll Loveday m. Helmy Kresa
• "This Is The Missus" w.m. Lew Brown & Ray Henderson
• "The Thrill Is Gone" w.m. Lew Brown & Ray Henderson
• "Till The Real Thing Comes Along" w.m. Mann Holiner, Alberta Nichols, Sammy Cahn, Saul Chaplin & L. E. Freeman
• "Twentieth Century Blues" w.m. Noel Coward
• "Under The Bridges Of Paris" w.m. Vincent Scotto, Jean Rodor, Dorcas Cochran
• "Underneath The Arches" w.m. Reg Connelly & Bud Flanagan
• "Wabash Moon" w.m. Dave Dreyer & Morton Downey
• "Was I?" w. Charles Farrell m. Chick Endor from the revue Ziegfeld Follies Of 1931
• "Was That The Human Thing To Do?" w. Joe Young m. Sammy Fain
• "We'll Be The Same" w. Lorenz Hart m. Richard Rodgers
• "Were You Sincere" w. Jack Meskill m. Vincent Rose
• "When I Take My Sugar To Tea" w.m. Sammy Fain, Irving Kahal & Pierre Norman Connor
• "When It's Sleepy Time Down South" w.m. Leon Rene, Otis Rene & Clarence Muse
• "When The Bloom Is On The Sage" w.m. Nat Vincent & Fred Howard Wright
• "When The Moon Comes Over The Mountain" w.m. Howard Johnson, Harry Woods & Kate Smith
• "When Your Lover Has Gone" w.m. E. A. Swan
• "When Yuba Plays The Rhumba On The Tuba" w.m. Herman Hupfeld
• "Where The Blue Of The Night" w.m. Roy Turk, Bing Crosby & Fred E. Ahlert
• "Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams" w. Ted Koehler & Billy Moll m. Harry Barris
• "Yes, Yes, My Baby Said Yes, Yes" Cliff Friend, Con Conrad
• "You Are My Heart's Delight" w. Harry Graham m. Franz Lehár Music 1923
• "You Call It Madness (But I Call It Love)" w.m. Con Conrad, Gladys Du Bois, Russ Columbo & Paul Gregory
• "You Can't Stop Me From Loving You" w. Mann Holiner m.Alberta Nichols
• "You Rascal You" w.m. Sam Theard
• "You Try Somebody Else" w. B. G. De Sylva & Lew Brown m. Ray Henderson
• "You're Blasé" w. Bruce Sievier m. Ord Hamilton
• "You're My Decline And Fall" George Posford
• "You're My Everything" w. Mort Dixon & Joe Young m. Harry Warren
• "Yours" (orig. "Quiereme Mucho") w. (Eng) Jack Sherr (Sp) Augustin Rodriguez m. Gonzalo Roig

Top hits on record

• "As Time Goes By" by Rudy Vallee
• "Dream A Little Dream Of Me" by Wayne King, The Waltz King
• "Goodnight, Sweetheart" by Guy Lombardo & His Royal Canadians
• "I Found A Million Dollar Baby (In a 5 and 10 Cent Store)" by The Boswell Sisters
• "Just One More Chance" by Bing Crosby
• "Lady, Play Your Mandolin" by Nick Lucas
• "Life Is Just A Bowl Of Cherries" by Rudy Vallee
• "Mood Indigo" by Duke Ellington & His Jungle Band
• "Out Of Nowhere" by Bing Crosby
• "The Peanut Vendor (El Manicero)" by Don Azpiazu
• "Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone" by Gene Austin
• "Star Dust" by Bing Crosby
• "Time On My Hands" by Al Bowlly with The New Mayfair Dance Orchestra
• "When the Moon Comes Over the Mountain" by Kate Smith
• "When Yuba Plays the Rumba On the Tuba" by Rudy Vallee & His Connecticut Yankees
• "You Call It Madness (But I Call It Love)" by Russ Columbo

Classical music

• Ruth Crawford-Seeger - String Quartet
• Sergei Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 4 and Maurice Ravel's Piano Concerto for the Left Hand, both written specially for Paul Wittgenstein.
• Igor Stravinsky - Violin Concerto in D
• Edgar Varèse - Ionisation (1929-31)
• William Walton - Belshazzar's Feast (oratorio)

Opera

• George Antheil - Helen Retires (not performed until 1934)
• Gustave Charpentier - Orphée
• Walter Goehr - Malpopita
• Eugène Ysaÿe - Peter the Miner

Musical theater

• The Band Wagon Broadway production opened at the New Amsterdam Theatre on June 3 and ran for 260 performances
• Bitter Sweet (Noel Coward) - London revival
• The Cat And The Fiddle Broadway production opened at the Globe Theatre on October 15 and ran for 395 performances
• Cavalcade (Noel Coward) - London production opened at the Drury Lane Theatre on October 13 and ran for 405 performances
• Die Dubarry Berlin production opened on August 14
• The Land Of Smiles (Franz Lehár) - London production opened at the Drury Lane Theatre on May 8
• The Third Little Show Broadway production opened at the Music Box Theatre on June 1 and ran for 136 performances
• Victoria And Her Hussar London production opened at the Palace Theatre on September 17 and ran for 100 performances
• White Horse Inn London production opened at the Coliseum Theatre on April 8 and ran for 651 performances

Musical films

• Fifty Million Frenchmen

Births

• January 5 - Alfred Brendel
• January 8 - Bill Graham, rock music entrepreneur (+ 1991)
• January 21 - Rudi Maugeri, The Crew Cuts
• January 22 - Sam Cooke
• February 14 - Phyllis McGuire, The McGuire Sisters
• March 14 - Phil Phillips
• April 29 - Lonnie Donegan
• May 4 - Ed Cassidy, Spirit
• May 14 - Alvin Lucier, composer
• May 7 - Teresa Brewer
• June 3 - Dakota Staton, US singer
• July 6 - Della Reese
• July 11 - Tab Hunter
• July 18 - Papa Dee Allen, War
• July 31 - Morey Carr, The Playmates
• August 1 - Ramblin' Jack Ellott
• August 28 - John Perkins, The Crewcuts
• August 28 - John Shirley-Quirk
• September 19 - Brook Benton
• September 22 - George Chambers, The Chambers Brothers
• September 24 - Anthony Newley, English songwriter actor and singer
• October 24 - Sofia Gubaidulina, composer
• November 5 - Ike Turner
• December 24 - Mauricio Kagel, composer
• December 30 - Skeeter Davis

Deaths

• February 11 - Thomas Edison, inventor of the phonograph
• February 23 - Dame Nellie Melba, operatic soprano
• May 12 - Eugène Ysaÿe, violinist and composer
• July 4 - Buddy Petit
• August 6 - Bix Beiderbecke
• September 23 - Harry Macdonough, pioneer recording artist
• October 3 - Carl Nielsen, composer
• December 2 - Vincent d'Indy, composer