Cultural Highlights of 1951
- Jan 1951: Tony Bennett Claims the Charts – The musical landscape of 1951 continues the sophisticated traditions of post-war pop while quietly absorbing the energetic rhythmic influences of rhythm and blues and country crossover styles. The defining vocal powerhouse of the early year is Tony Bennett, whose timeless, soaring rendition of 'Because of You' dominates the airwaves for ten weeks at number one. Bennett establishes himself as a premier voice in traditional pop, combining emotional intensity with grand orchestral arrangements that captivate post-war audiences.
- Apr 1951: Rosemary Clooney and Playful Pop – The public's appetite for playful, theatrical pop numbers is brilliantly satisfied by Rosemary Clooney with her breakout novelty hit 'Come On-a My House.' The catchy, eccentric tune showcases how lighthearted humor and catchy arrangements can conquer national charts, providing whimsical entertainment for families listening together on household radios and record players.
- Jul 1951: Les Paul and Mary Ford Pioneer Multi-Track Sound – A technological revolution quietly unfolds in the recording studio as the husband-and-wife duo Les Paul and Mary Ford pioneer multi-track recording and variable-speed playback techniques. Their innovative hits, including 'Mockin' Bird Hill,' introduce multi-layered vocal harmony and guitar layering that fundamentally alters audio production standards, proving that modern studio technology can create entirely new sonic textures previously impossible in live performance.
- Nov 1951: Mario Lanza Bridges Classical and Pop – Tenor Mario Lanza dominates both classical and popular crossover charts with his soaring romantic performance of 'Be My Love.' The cinematic ballad resonates deeply with post-war romanticism, showcasing the enduring public love for operatic vocal power. Meanwhile, underground rhythm and blues artists like Ruth Brown and B.B. King continue building fervent multi-racial audiences through independent labels, signaling that the rigid demographic boundaries of American popular music are beginning to crack.
Mario Lanza Sings Christmas Songs
By Mario Lanza
Label: RCA Victor Red Seal
Released: 1951
Kindertotenlieder
By Mahler
Label: Columbia
Released: 1951
Christmas with Patti Page
By Patti Page
Label: Mercury Records
Released: 1951
Symphonie nr. 7 C‐dur, op. posth.
By Franz Schubert
Label: Deutsche Grammophon
Released: 1951
Bawdy Songs & Backroom Ballads, Volume 4
By Oscar Brand
Label: Audio Fidelity
Released: 1951
Les Paul's New Sound Vol. 2
By Les Paul & Mary Ford
Label: Capitol Records
Released: 1951
The New Sounds
By Miles Davis
Label: Prestige
Released: 1951
Songs of Jimmie Rodgers
By Lefty Frizzell
Label: Columbia
Released: 1951
Yves Montands Sings - In French
By Yves Montand
Label: Decca Records
Released: 1951
Ziggy Elman and His Orchestra Play
By Ziggy Elman and His Orchestra
Label: MGM Records
Released: 1951
Of Men and Memories
By Ruth Wallis
Label: Wallis Original Record Corp.
Released: 1951
Johnny Hodges, Vol. 1
By Johnny Hodges Orchestra
Label: Jazz Panorama
Released: 1951
Jazz-Party
By Dutch Swing College Orchester
Label: Philips
Released: 1951
Bechet Souvenirs
By Bechet
Label: Disques Vogue
Released: 1951
Lullaby Of Broadway
By Doris Day
Label: Columbia
Released: 1951
Castle Rock
By Johnny Hodges and His Orchestra
Label: Verve
Released: 1951
Jam Session
By Illinois Jacquet & His All Stars
Label: Apollo Records
Released: 1951
Dixieland Clambake
By Art Hodes's Hot Seven
Label: Blue Note
Released: 1951
Songs of Princeton: In Praise of Old Nassau
By The Princeton University Band
Label: RCA Victor
Released: 1951
Bud Powell Trio
By Bud Powell Trio
Label: Roost Records
Released: 1951
Fats Navarro Memorial Album
By Fats Navarro
Label: Blue Note
Released: 1951
Sings Christmas Carols
By Marian Anderson
Label: RCA Victor Red Seal
Released: 1951
The Firehouse Five Plus Two - The FH5 Story, Part I
By Firehouse Five Plus Two
Label: Good Time Jazz
Released: 1951
Talking and Drum Solos
By Baby Dodds
Label: Folkways Records
Released: 1951
A Group of Bahamian Songs
By Blind Blake & The Royal Victoria Hotel Calypso Orchestra
Label: ART Records
Released: 1951
Piano Concerto no. 2 in C minor
By Rachmaninoff
Label: RCA Victor Red Seal
Released: 1951
The Immortal Music From Show Boat
By Patti Page
Label: Mercury Records
Released: 1951
Danny Kaye With The Johnny Green Orchestra
By Danny Kaye
Label: Decca Records
Released: 1951
Favorites Volume One
By James Moody
Label: Prestige
Released: 1951
Mambo Jambo
By Sonny Burke
Label: Decca Records
Released: 1951
Toots' Quartet
By Toots' Quartet
Label: Decca Records
Released: 1951
Free Forms By Ralph Burns
By Ralph Burns
Label: Mercury Records
Released: 1951
Bob Wilber And His Jazz Band With Guest Star Sidney Bechet
By Bob Wilber and His Band
Label: Circle
Released: 1951
Galloping Guitars
By Les Paul and His Trio
Label: Decca Records
Released: 1951
Das deutsche Volkslied
By Richard Tauber
Label: Decca Records
Released: 1951
Leroy Anderson Conducts His Own Compositions
By Leroy Anderson and His “Pops” Concert Orchestra
Label: Decca Records
Released: 1951
Over the Rainbow a Panorama of Color
By Les Brown and His Band of Renown
Label: Coral Records
Released: 1951
You're My Everything
By Les Brown and His Band of Renown
Label: Coral Records
Released: 1951
Erroll Garner, Vol. 2
By Erroll Garner
Label: Vogue Productions
Released: 1951
Stan Kenton Presents
By Stan Kenton
Label: Capitol Records
Released: 1951
Piano Favorites Volume One
By Reinhold Svensson And His Quintet
Label: Prestige
Released: 1951
Piano Moods
By Stan Freeman
Label: Columbia
Released: 1951
Sonatas & Interludes for Prepared Piano
By John Cage
Label: Dial Records
Released: 1951
Pavanne / Runnin' Wild
By Glenn Miller and His Orchestra
Label: His Master’s Voice
Released: 1951
The New Sounds
By Lee Konitz
Label: Prestige
Released: 1951
Volume Two
By Johnny Hodges And His Orchestra
Label: Mercer Records
Released: 1951
New Songs
By John Gruen
Label: Elektra
Released: 1951
Alice in Wonderland: Very Good Advice and The Caucus Race
By The Sandpipers
Label: Golden Records
Released: 1951
Ellingtonia
By Rex Stewart And His Orchestra
Label: Dial Records
Released: 1951
Blessed Assurance
By Sister Rosetta Tharpe
Label: Decca Records
Released: 1951
Old Harp Singing
By Old Harp Singers of Eastern Tennessee
Label: Folkways Records
Released: 1951
Christmas Serenade
By Swing and Sway With Sammy Kaye
Label: Columbia
Released: 1951
The Firehouse Five Plus Two - The FH5 Story, Part II
By Firehouse Five Plus Two
Label: Good Time Jazz
Released: 1951
Irving Berlin Songs
By The Andrews Sisters
Label: Decca Records
Released: 1951
Mantovani Concert
By Mantovani And His Orchestra
Label: Decca Records
Released: 1951
Piano Solos
By Erroll Garner
Label: Atlantic
Released: 1951
Erroll Garner
By Erroll Garner
Label: Vogue Records
Released: 1951
Gone With Garner
By Errol Garner
Label: Mercury Records
Released: 1951
Modern Jazz Trombones
By Kai Winding
Label: Prestige
Released: 1951
Modern Jazz Trombones Volume Two
By Bennie Green
Label: Prestige
Released: 1951
The Les Brown Show
By Les Brown and His Band of Renown
Label: U.S. Marine Corps Recruiting
Released: 1951
Bix Beiderbecke Suite / Piano Portraits
By Ralph Sutton
Label: Commodore Records
Released: 1951
Ella Sings Gershwin
By Ella Fitzgerald
Label: Decca Records
Released: 1951
Hymns and Carols: Early American
By Andrew Rowan Summers
Label: Folkways Records
Released: 1951
Encores
By Édith Piaf
Label: Columbia
Released: 1951
Recital
By Alexandrov Song And Dance Ensemble
Label: Supraphon
Released: 1951
Symphony no. 2 in E minor, op. 27
By Rachmaninoff
Label: Columbia Masterworks
Released: 1951
Music Minus One, Vol. 2: A Rhythm Background Record for Any Musician or Vocalist
By Don Abney
Label: Branditmusic
Released: 1951
Trio no. 1 in B-flat major, op. 99
By Schubert
Label: RCA Victor Red Seal
Released: 1951
Music of the 12th & 13th Centuries: Anthology of Middle Age and Renaissance Music vol.1
By Pro Musica Antiqua
Label: EMS Recordings
Released: 1951
Renard
By Stravinsky
Label: Dial Records
Released: 1951
Dee Gee Presents The Milt Jackson Quartet
By Milt Jackson Quartet
Label: Dee Gee
Released: 1951
Mercer Records Presents the Billy Strayhorn Trio
By Billy Strayhorn Trio
Label: Mercer Records
Released: 1951
Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn
By Duke Ellington
Label: Vogue Productions
Released: 1951
Jazz Band Ball
By James P. Johnson’s Blue Note Jazzmen
Label: Blue Note
Released: 1951
Encores Américaines
By Josephine Baker
Label: Columbia
Released: 1951
Rhumbas
By Chuy Reyes and His Orchestra
Label: Capitol Records
Released: 1951
Perfume Set to Music
By Harry Revel
Label: RCA Victor
Released: 1951
The Works of George Frederick Handel: Series A: Orchestral Concertos
By George Frederick Handel
Label: Archive Production
Released: 1951
The Marriage Of Figaro: Opera In 4 Acts
By Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Label: Columbia Masterworks
Released: 1951
Symphonie N° 7 / Ouverture "Coriolan"
By Ludwig van Beethoven
Label: La Voix de son maître
Released: 1951
Dizzy Gillespie Plays
By Dizzy Gillespie
Label: Jazz Selection
Released: 1951
Modern Jazz Trumpets
By Fats Navarro
Label: Prestige
Released: 1951
At Storyville / At The Hickory House
By Marian McPartland
Label: Savoy Records
Released: 1951
Bir Tatlı Tebessüm
By Zeki Müren
Label: Coşkun Plak
Released: 1951
Swingin' With Zoot Sims
By Zoot Sims
Label: Prestige
Released: 1951
Hank Williams Sings
By Hank Williams
Label: MGM Records
Released: 1951
Les Frères Jacques chantent leurs derniers succès sur disque
By Les Frères Jacques
Label: Polydor
Released: 1951
1ère série: Félic Leclerc chante ses derniers succès sur disque longue durée
By Félix Leclerc
Label: Polydor
Released: 1951
Le Sacre du printemps
By Igor Stravinsky
Label: London Records
Released: 1951
Teresa Brewer Showcase
By Teresa Brewer
Label: London Records
Released: 1951
Waltzing With Mantovani
By Mantovani And His Orchestra
Label: London Records
Released: 1951
Lover Man
By Billie Holiday
Label: Decca Records
Released: 1951
Piano Solos
By Bud Powell
Label: Mercury Records
Released: 1951
Carefree Rhythms
By Percy Faith & His Orchestra
Label: Columbia
Released: 1951
Dorothy Kirsten Sings Songs of Jerome Kern
By Dorothy Kirsten
Label: Columbia Masterworks
Released: 1951
Concerto no. 2, in B-flat, op. 83
By Brahms
Label: RCA Victor Red Seal
Released: 1951