This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1949.
Specific locations
1949 in British music
1949 in Norwegian music
Specific genres
1949 in country music
1949 in jazz
Events
January 12 – Maro Ajemian, to whom the work is dedicated, gives one of the first performances of the complete cycle of John Cage's Sonatas and Interludes at Carnegie Hall. February 4 – Ljuba Welitsch makes her Metropolitan Opera début in Salome. February 11 – London Mozart Players give their first concert, at the Wigmore Hall. April – Goree Carter records "Rock Awhile", which is considered to be the first rock and roll record. June 25 – The Philharmonic Piano Quartet make their New York City debut at Lewisohn Stadium September 5 – English Wagnerian tenor Walter Widdop appears at The Proms, singing "Lohengrin's Farewell", the day before his sudden death at the age of 51. December 15 – Birdland jazz club opens in New York City. December 24 – At the start of the Holy Year, Charles Gounod's Inno e Marcia Pontificale is adopted as the new papal anthem. December 29 – Les Paul and Mary Ford marry. The Boccherini Quintet is formed in Rome. Ravi Shankar becomes music director of All India Radio. Mitch Miller begins his career as one of the 20th century's most successful record producers at Mercury Eddie Fisher is "discovered" by Eddie Cantor and signs with RCA. Bob Hope suggests that Anthony Benedetto change his stage name from "Joe Bari" to "Tony Bennett" Frankie Laine records "Mule Train", considered by some critics as marking the beginning of the rock era. Teresa Brewer makes her first recording on the London label. The Ames Brothers become the first artists to record for Coral Records, a subsidiary of Decca. Johnnie Ray performs at the Flame Showbar in Detroit. The legendary Al Jolson records the soundtrack to "Jolson Sings Again," the sequel to his hugely successful biopic "The Jolson Story" (1946) 45 rpm discs are introduced Gorni Kramer starts working for musical impresarios Garinei and Giovannini. Country singer Bill Haley enters into a partnership with musicians Johnny Grande and Billy Williamson to form Bill Haley and His Saddlemen; in 1952 the group is renamed Bill Haley & His Comets. The International Rostrum of Composers is founded.
Albums released
Der Bingle – Bing Crosby
Jerome Kern Songs – Bing Crosby
Merry Christmas – Bing Crosby
Stephen Foster Songs – Bing Crosby
Lights, Cameras, Action – Doris Day
You're My Thrill – Doris Day
Frankie Laine – Frankie Laine
Frankie Laine Favorites – Frankie Laine
Songs from the Heart – Frankie Laine
The Return of the Wayfaring Stranger – Burl Ives
Dinah Shore – Dinah Shore
Jo Stafford with Gordon MacRae – Jo Stafford & Gordon MacRae
US No. 1 hit singles
These singles reached the top of the US charts in 1949.
Top popular records
Before the Hot100 was implemented in 1958, Billboard magazine measured a record's performance with three charts, 'Best-Selling Popular Retail Records', 'Records Most Played By Disk Jockeys' and 'Most-Played Juke Box Records'. We use the same data, with several modifications. Having no commercial deadlines, year-end data does not end December 31, chart-runs are ever truncated, and every hit song has a year to call home. With few exceptions, records included entered the charts between November 1948 and December 1949. Each week fifteen points were awarded to the number one record, then nine points for number two, eight points for number three, and so on. This system rewards songs that reach the highest positions, as well as those that had the longest chart runs. Each record's three point totals are combined, with that number determining the year-end rank. Number of weeks at number one or total weeks on the chart do not include duplicates; if a record was #1 on all 3 charts on July 15, that counts as one week, not three. Additional information from other sources is reported, but not used for ranking. This includes dates from the "Discography of American Historical Recordings" website, cross-over information from R&B and Country charts, 'Cashbox', and other sources as noted.
Top R&B and country hit records
Don't Rob Another Man's Castle performed by Eddy Arnold; words and music by Jenny Lou Carson The Fat Man, by Fats Domino, first record with back beat all the way through My Bucket's Got a Hole in It by Hank Williams and later by T. Texas Tyler "When Things Go Wrong With You (It Hurts Me Too)" by Tampa Red, later covered by Elmore James among others