1938 in music

Events

• January 16 - Benny Goodman plays Carnegie Hall
• September 22 - Anton Webern's String Quartet is premiered in Pittsfield, Massachusetts
• Roy Acuff[?]'s musical career begins
• Sister Rosetta Tharpe[?]'s musical career begins
• Pete Seeger's musical career begins
• Robert Lockwood Jr.[?]'s musical career begins
• Jelly Roll Morton speaks, sings, and plays piano for an eight-hour Library of Congress recorded sound documentary produced by Alan Lomax

Top Hit Recordings

• "Don't Be That Way" by Benny Goodman
• "My Reverie" by Larry Clinton[?]
• "Begin the Beguine" by Artie Shaw
• "Cry, Baby, Cry" by Larry Clinton[?]
• "Ti-Pi-Tin" by Hoarce Heidt[?]
• "A-Tisket, A-Tasket" by Ella Fitzgerald with Chick Webb[?]
• "Thanks for the Memory" by Shep Fields[?]
• "Music, Maestro, Please" by Tommy Dorsey
• "Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen" by The Andrews Sisters
• "I've Got a Pocketful of Dreams" by Bing Crosby

Births

• January 14 - Alain Toussaint[?]
• January 14 - Jack Jones[?]
• January 19 - Phil Everly[?]
• January 21 - Wolfman Jack
• February 22 - Bobby Hendricks[?], The Drifters
• March 18 - Charlie Pride[?]
• March 25 - Hoyt Axton[?]
• April 7 - Freddie Hubbard
• April 7 - Spencer Dryden[?], Jefferson Airplane
• April 26 - Duane Eddy
• May 10 - Henry Fambrough[?], The Spinners[?]
• May 13 - John Smith[?], The Monotones[?]
• May 15 - Lenny Welch[?]
• July 4 - Bill Withers
• July 14 - Bob Scholl[?], The Mello-Kings[?]
• July 17 - Stanley Bronstein[?], Elephant's Memory Band
• July 28 - George Cummings[?], Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show[?]
• August 8 - Don Jacobucci[?], Regents
• August 24 - David Freiberg[?], Quicksilver Messenger Service
• August 24 - Mason Williams[?]
• September 11 - Charles Patrick[?], The Monotones[?]
• September 28 - Ben E. King[?]
• October 3 - Eddie Cochran
• October 5 - Carlos Mastangelo[?], The Belmonts
• October 15 - Marv Johnson[?]
• October 16 - Nico[?], Velvet Underground
• October 18 - Ronnie Bright[?], The Coasters
• November 2 - Jay Black[?], Jay & The Americans[?]
• November 4 - Harry Elston[?], Friends Of Distinction[?]
• November 6 - Jim Pike[?], The Lettermen[?]
• November 6 - P.J. Proby[?]
• November 7 - Dee Clark[?]
• November 14 - Cornelius Gunter[?], The Flairs[?], The Coasters
• November 17 - Gordon Lightfoot
• November 19 - Hank Medress[?], The Tokens[?]
• December 1 - Sandy Nelson[?]
• December 5 - J.J. Cale[?]
• December 12 - Connie Francis
• December 28 - Charles Neville[?], Joey Dee & The Starlighters[?], The Neville Brothers

Deaths

• March 2 - Ben Harney, ragtime composer & entertainer
• August 16 - Robert Johnson, blues man,
• August 30 - James Scott, ragtime composer