This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1917.

• 1917 in British music
• 1917 in Norwegian music

• 1917 in country music
• 1917 in jazz

• March 7 – "Livery Stable Blues", recorded with "Dixie Jazz Band One Step" on February 26 by the Original Dixieland Jass Band (a white 5-piece group from New Orleans led by cornetist Nick LaRocca) for the Victor Talking Machine Company in the United States, becomes the first jazz recording commercially released (described as a "foxtrot"). On August 17 the band records "Tiger Rag"
• May 12 – Béla Bartók's ballet The Wooden Prince is premiered in Budapest
• First African American jazz recordings made by Wilbur Sweatman's Band
• Eddie Cantor makes his first recordings
• Songs of the First World War become popular in the U.S.

• See Category:Musical groups established in 1917

• "All The World Will Be Jealous Of Me" w. Al Dubin m. Ernest R. Ball
• "Any Time Is Kissing Time" w. Oscar Asche m. Frederic Norton from the musical Chu Chin Chow
• "Are You From Heaven?" w.m. L. Wolfe Gilbert & Anatole Friedland
• "At the Jazz Band Ball" w.m. Edwin B. Edwards, Nick LaRocca, Tony Spargo & Larry Shields
• "A Bachelor Gay" w. Frank Clifford Harris & (Arthur) Valentine m. James W. Tate from the musical The Maid of the Mountains
• "Barnyard Blues" w.m. Edwin B. Edwards, Nick La Rocca, Tony Sbarbaro & Larry Shields
• "The Bells Of St Mary's" w. Douglas Furber m. A. Emmett Adams
• "The Bombo-Shay" by Henry Creamer

• "Bring Back My Daddy to Me" m. George W. Meyer w. William Tracey & Howard Johnson
• "Bring Me A Rose" w.m. Charles Shisler
• "Cheer Up, Liza" John L. Golden, Raymond Hubbell
• "Cleopatra Had A Jazz Band" w. Jack Coogan m. Jimmy Morgan
• "Come To The Fair" w. Helen Taylor m. Easthope Martin
• "The Darktown Strutters' Ball" w.m. Shelton Brooks
• "Dixie Jass Band One-Step" Original Dixieland Jass Band
• "Eileen (Alanna Asthore)" w. Henry Blossom m. Victor Herbert
• "For Me And My Gal" w. Edgar Leslie & E. Ray Goetz m. George W. Meyer
• "For Your Country and My Country" w.m. Irving Berlin
• "Give a Man a Horse He Can Ride" w. James Thomson m. Geoffrey O'Hara
• "Give Me the Moonlight, Give Me the Girl" w. Lew Brown m. Albert Von Tilzer
• "Going Up" w. Otto Harbach m. Louis A. Hirsch
• "Good Luck and God Be With You, Laddie Boy" w. Will D. Cobb m. Gus Edwards
• "Good Bye Broadway, Hello France" w. C. Francis Reisner & Benny Davis m. Billy Baskette

• "Goodbye, Ma! Goodbye, Pa! Goodbye, Mule, with Yer Old Hee-Haw!" w. William Herschell m. Barclay Walker
• "'Good-bye,' That Means You" w. Andrew B. Sterling m. Arthur Lange
• "Good-bye-ee" w.m. R. P. Weston & Bert Lee
• "Hail, Hail, the Gang's All Here" w. D. A. Esrom (pseudonym of Dolly Morse) m. Theodore F. Morse & Arthur Sullivan
• "Have A Heart" w. P. G. Wodehouse m. Jerome Kern
• "Hawaiian Butterfly" w. George A. Little m. Billy Baskette & Joseph H. Santley
• "Homeward Bound" m. George Meyer w. Howard Johnson and Coleman Goetz
• "Homing" w. Arthur L. Salmon m. Teresa del Riego
• "How Can I Forget When There's So Much To Remember" w.m. Irving Berlin
• "Huckleberry Finn" by Cliff Hess
• "I Don't Know Where I'm Going But I'm On My Way" w.m. George Fairman
• "I Don't Want to Get Well" w. Howard Johnson & Harry Pease m. Harry Jentes
• "I May Be Gone for a Long, Long Time" w. Lew Brown m. Albert Von Tilzer
• "I Wish You All the Luck in the World" w. & m. by Abe Olman
• "I'd Love To Be A Monkey In The Zoo" w. Bert Hanlon m. Willie White
• "I'll Take You Back To Italy" w.m. Irving Berlin
• "I'm All Bound Round With The Mason-Dixon Line" w. Sam M. Lewis & Joe Young m. Jean Schwartz
• "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows" w. Joseph McCarthy m. Harry Carroll (melody adapted from Chopin)
• "If I Find The Guy Who Wrote "Poor Butterfly"" w. William Jerome m. Arthur Green
• "Indiana" w. Ballard MacDonald m. James F. Hanley
• "Indianola" m. Henry R. Stern & Domenico Savino
• "Joan of Arc, They Are Calling You" w. Alfred Bryan & Willie Weston m. Jack Wells

• "Johnson Rag" m. Guy H. Hall & Henry Kleinhauf
• "Just A Baby's Prayer At Twilight" w. Sam M. Lewis & Joe Young m. M. K. Jerome
• "Leave It to Jane" w. P. G. Wodehouse m. Jerome Kern
• "Let's All Be Americans Now" w.m. Irving Berlin, Edgar Leslie & George W. Meyer
• "Lily Of The Valley" w. L. Wolfe Gilbert m. Anatole Friedland
• "Little Mother of Mine" w. Walter H. Brown m. Harry T. Burleigh
• "Little Sir Echo" w. Laura R. Smith m. J. S. Fearis

• "Livery Stable Blues" Alcide Nunez & Ray Lopez
• "Lorraine (My Beautiful Alsace Lorraine)" w. Alfred Bryan m. Fred Fisher
• "Love Will Find A Way" w. Harry Graham m. Harold Fraser-Simson. Introduced by José Collins in the musical The Maid of the Mountains
• "Mad'moiselle From Armentieres" w.m. anon
• "McNamara's Band" w. John J. Stamford m. Shamus O'Connor
• "The Modern Maiden's Prayer" w. Ballard MacDonald m. James F. Hanley
• "My Sunshine Jane" w. J. Keirn Brennan m. Ernest R. Ball
• "My Sweetie" w.m. Irving Berlin
• "'N' Everything" w.m. Al Jolson, B. G. DeSylva & Gus Kahn
• "Napoleon" w. P.G. Wodehouse m. Jerome Kern
• "Nesting Time in Flatbush" w. P. G. Wodehouse m. Jerome Kern
• "Oh It's a Lovely War" w.m. Maurice Scott
• "Oh Johnny, Oh Johnny, Oh!" w. Ed Rose m. Abe Olman
• "Ole Miss Rag" w.m. W. C. Handy
• "On the Road to Home Sweet Home" w. Gus Kahn m. Egbert van Alstyne
• "Ostrich Walk" m. Edwin B. Edwards, Nick LaRocca, Tony Spargo & Larry Shields
• "Out Where the West Begins" w. Arthur Chapman m. Estelle Philleo
• "Over There" w.m. George M. Cohan
• "Paddy McGinty's Goat" w.m. R.P. Weston, Bert Lee & The Two Bobs
• "A Paradise For Two" w. Frank Clifford Harris & Valentine m. James W. Tate
• "Regretful Blues" w. Grant Clarke m. Cliff Hess
• "Reflection Rag" m. Scott Joplin
• "The Road to Paradise" w. Rida Johnson Young m. Sigmund Romberg from the musical Maytime
• "Rockaway" by Howard Johnson
• "Rolled Into One" w. P. G. Wodehouse m. Jerome Kern
• "Rose Room" w. Harry Williams m. Art Hickman
• "Sailin' Away on the Henry Clay" w. Gus Kahn m. Egbert Van Alstyne
• "Say a Prayer for the Boys "Out There"" w. Bernie Grossman m. Alex Marr
• "Send Me Away With A Smile" w.m. Louis Weslyn & Al Piantadosi
• "Shim-Me-Sha-Wabble" m. Spencer Williams
• "Sing Me Love's Lullaby" w. Dorothy Terris m. Theodore F. Morse
• "The Siren's Song" w. P. G. Wodehouse m. Jerome Kern
• "Six Times Six Is Thirty-Six" w. Bert Hanlon m. William White
• "Slippery Hank" Frank H. Losey
• "Smile And Show Your Dimple" w.m. Irving Berlin (reworked 1933 as "Easter Parade")
• "Smiles" w. J. Will Callahan m. Lee S. Roberts
• "Some Sunday Morning" w. Gus Kahn & Raymond B. Egan m. Richard A. Whiting
• "Somewhere in France" w. Arthur Wimperis m. Herbert Ivey
• "Somewhere in France Is Daddy" w. m. Great Howard (Howard Miller)
• "Somewhere In France (Is The Lily)" w. Philander Chase Johnson m. Joseph E. Howard
• "Southern Gals" w. Jack Yellen m. Albert Gumble
• "The Story Book Ball" w.m. Billie Montgomery & George Perry
• "Sweet Emalina My Gal" w. Henry Creamer m. Turner Layton
• "That's The Kind Of Baby For Me" w.m. Jack Egan & Alfred Harrison
• "There Are Fairies At The Bottom Of Our Garden" w.m. Liza Lehmann
• "There's A Lump Of Sugar Down In Dixie" w. Alfred Bryan & Jack Yellen m. Albert Gumble
• "There's Something Nice About The South" w.m. Irving Berlin
• "They Go Wild Simply Wild Over Me" w. Joseph McCarthy m. Fred Fisher
• "They'll Be Whistling It All Over Town" w. E. Ray Goetz m.Jean Schwartz
• "Thine Alone" w. Henry Blossom m. Victor Herbert
• "The Tickle Toe" w. Otto Harbach m. Louis Hirsch
• "Tiger Rag" w. Harry De Costa m. Edwin B. Edwards, Nick La Rocca, Tony Sbarbaro, Henry Ragas & Larry Shields
• "Till The Clouds Roll By" w. P. G. Wodehouse, Guy Bolton & Jerome Kern m. Jerome Kern
• "Ugly Chile" w.m. Clarence Williams
• "The Waggle O' The Kilt" w.m. Harry Lauder
• "Wait Till The Cows Come Home" w. Anne Caldwell m. Ivan Caryll
• "When the Boys Come Home" w. John Hay m. Oley Speaks
• "When the Clouds of War Roll By" w. Nat Binns m. Earl Haubrich
• "When Yankee Doodle Learns To Parlez Vous Francais" w. Will Hart m. Edward G. Nelson
• "Where Do We Go from Here?" w. Howard Johnson m. Percy Wenrich
• "Where The Morning Glories Grow" w. Gus Kahn & Raymond B. Egan m. Richard A. Whiting
• "Why Am I Always The Bridesmaid?" w.m. Fred Leigh, Charles Collins & Lily Morris
• "Will You Remember?" w. Rida Johnson Young m. Sigmund Romberg
• "Wonder Eyes" m. Percy E. Fletcher
• "Yah-De-Dah" m. Mel B. Kaufman
• "You Brought Ireland Right Over To Me" w. J. Keirn Brennan m. Ernest R. Ball
• "You Never Knew About Me" w. P. G. Wodehouse m. Jerome Kern

• "Livery Stable Blues/Dixie Jass One Step" by the Original Dixieland Jass Band
• "Goodbye Broadway, Hello France" by the American Quartet
• "A Bachelor Gay" by Peter Dawson
• "I Don't Want To Get Well" by Van & Schenck
• "Joe Turner Blues" by Wilbur Sweatman
• "Long Boy" by Byron G. Harlan With The Peerless Quartet
• "Over There" recorded by
  • Billy Murray
  • Nora Bayes
• "Poor Butterfly" by the Victor Military Band
• "That's The Kind Of A Baby For Me" by Eddie Cantor
• "The Waggle O' The Kilt" by Harry Lauder
• "Yaddie Kaddie Kiddie Kaddie Koo" by Van & Schenck

• Arnold Bax – November Woods
• Lili Boulanger – Psaume 130 (Du fond de l'abîme)
• Frank Bridge – Cello Sonata in D minor
• John Alden Carpenter
  • The Birthday of the Infanta, ballet
  • The Home Road for SATB mixed chorus or unison voices and piano
  • Symphony No. 1 ("Sermons in Stones")
• Carlos Chávez – Sonata fantasia (Piano Sonata No. 1)
• Nancy Dalberg – Symphony in C-sharp minor
• Claude Debussy – Violin Sonata in G minor
• Frederick Delius – Eventyr (Once Upon a Time)
• Gabriel Fauré – Cello Sonata No. 1
• Alexander Glazunov – Piano Concerto No. 2 in B, Op. 100
• Launy Grøndahl – Violin Concerto in D Major
• Charles Koechlin
  • La divine vesprée, ballet
  • Paysages et marines, Op. 63bis, version for flute, clarinet, string quartet, and piano
  • Sonata for cello and piano, Op. 66
• Carl Nielsen – Chaconne, for piano
• Willem Pijper
  • Symphony No. 1, Pan
  • Sonatina No. 1, for piano
  • De Lente Komt, choral
• Sergei Prokofiev
  • Violin Concerto No. 1, Op. 19
  • Igrok (The Gambler), opera, Op. 24
  • Mimoletnosti (Visions fugitives), 20 pieces for piano, Op. 22
  • Piano Sonata No. 3 ("From Old Notebooks"), Op. 28
  • Piano Sonata No. 4 ("From Old Notebooks"), Op. 29
  • Symphony No. 1 Classical, Op. 25
• Maurice Ravel – Le tombeau de Couperin, for piano
• Ottorino Respighi – Ancient Airs and Dances Suite No. 1
• Arnold Schoenberg – Verklärte Nacht (string orchestra version)
• Jean Sibelius – Humoresques for Violin and Orchestra opp. 87 and 89
• Charles Villiers Stanford
  • Aviator's Hymn, for tenor, bass, choir, and organ
  • Irish Rhapsody No. 5, in G Minor, for orchestra
  • Night Thoughts, Op. 148, for piano
  • "On Windy Way When Morning Breaks", partsong
  • Sailing Song, partsong, two soprano voices
  • "St George of England", song
  • Scènes de ballet, Op. 150, for piano
  • Sonata No. 1, in F major, Op. 149, for organ
  • Sonata No. 2 ("Eroica"), in G minor, Op. 151, for organ
  • Sonata No. 3 ("Britannica"), in D minor, Op. 152, for organ
• Igor Stravinsky
  • Berceuse, for voice and piano
  • Le chant du rossignol, symphonic poem
  • Cinq pièces faciles, for piano 4 hands
  • "Ovsen’", No. 2 from Podblyudnïye (Saucers) (Four Russian Peasant Songs), for women's choir
  • Song of the Volga Boatmen, arrangement for winds and percussion
  • Study, for pianola
  • Valse pour les enfants, for piano (possibly 1916)
• Karol Szymanowski
  • Sonata No. 3, for piano
  • String Quartet No. 1 in C major
  • Demeter, cantata
  • Agave, cantata
• Heitor Villa-Lobos
  • String Quartet No. 4
  • Symphony No. 2 Ascenção (Ascension), revised or completed 1943/44
• Eugène Ysaÿe – Exil, for string orchestra of only violins and violas, Op. 25

• Armas Launis – Kullervo
• Sergei Prokofiev – The Gambler
• Ignatz Waghalter – Jugend
• Giacomo Puccini – La rondine, Opéra de Monte-Carlo, 27 March
• Richard Strauss – Die Frau ohne Schatten
• Gabriel von Wayditch – The Caliph's Magician
• Alexander Zemlinsky – Eine florentinische Tragödie

• Pietro Mascagni – Rapsodia Satanica

• The Beauty Spot West End production opened at the Gaiety Theatre on 22 December and ran for 152 performances
• The Better 'Ole London production opened at the Oxford Theatre on August 4 and ran for 811 performances
• The Boy London production opened at the Adelphi Theatre on September 14 and ran for 801 performances
• Cheep London revue opened at the Vaudeville Theatre on April 26.
• Chu Chin Chow Broadway production opened at the Manhattan Opera House on October 22 and ran for 208 performances
• Eileen opened at the Shubert Theatre on March 19 and ran for 64 performances.
• Hanky Panky London revue opened at the Empire Theatre on March 24
• Jack O'Lantern Broadway production opened at the Globe Theatre on October 16 and ran for 265 performances
• Leave It to Jane Broadway production opened at the Longacre Theatre on August 28 and ran for 167 performances
• The Maid Of The Mountains London production opened at Daly's Theatre on February 10 and ran for 1352 performances
• Maytime Broadway production opened at the Shubert Theatre on August 16 and ran for 492 performances
• Miss 1917 Broadway revue opened at the Century Theatre on November 5 and ran for 72 performances
• Oh, Boy! (musical) Broadway production opened at the Princess Theatre on February 20 and ran for 463 performances
• The Riviera Girl Broadway production opened at the New Amsterdam Theatre on September 24 and ran for 78 performances
• Arlette West End production opened at the Shaftesbury Theatre on 6 September and ran for 280 performances

• January 2 – Vera Zorina, German dancer and actress (died 2003)
• January 3 – Pierre Dervaux, French operatic conductor, composer and pedagogue (d. 1992)
• January 10 – Jerry Wexler, music journalist and record producer (d. 2008)
• January 12
  • Walter Hendl, American conductor, composer and pianist (d. 2007)
  • Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, major influence on The Beatles (d. 2008)
• January 15 – Tiny Timbrell, guitarist (d. 1992)
• January 19 – John Raitt, American actor and singer (d. 2005)
• February 11 – Arcesia, singer (d. 1983)
• February 15 – Denise Scharley, French contralto (d. 2011)
• February 18 – Dona Massin, choreographer (d. 2001)
• February 25 – Anthony Burgess, composer (d. 1993)
• February 27 – George Mitchell, founder of the Black and White Minstrels (d. 2002)
• March 2
  • Desi Arnaz, musician, actor and producer (d. 1986)
  • John Gardner, composer (d. 2011)
• March 7 – Janet Collins, dancer and choreographer (d. 2003)
• March 12 – Leonard Chess, founder of Chess Records (d. 1969)
• March 17 – Brian Boydell, Irish composer (d. 2000)
• March 18 – Riccardo Brengola, violinist (d. 2004)
• March 19 – Dinu Lipatti, pianist (d. 1950)
• March 20 – Vera Lynn, singer (d. 2020)
• March 21 – Anton Coppola, opera conductor (d. 2020)
• March 23
  • Josef Locke, tenor (d. 1999)
  • Oscar Shumsky, violinist (d. 2000)
• March 26 – Rufus Thomas, singer (d. 2001)
• March 30
  • Els Aarne, composer (d. 1995)
  • Rudolf Brucci, composer (d. 2002)
• April 9 – Johannes Bobrowski, lyricist (d. 1965)
• April 12 – Helen Forrest, American jazz singer (d. 1999)
• April 22 – Yvette Chauviré, ballerina (d. 2016)
• April 25 – Ella Fitzgerald, jazz singer (d. 1996)
• April 30 – Bea Wain, US big band singer (d. 2017)
• May 1
  • Danielle Darrieux, singer and actress (d. 2017)
  • Lily Lian, street singer (d. 2020)
• May 14
  • Lou Harrison, US composer (d. 2003)
  • Norman Luboff, US choral director (d. 1987)
• May 16 – Vera Rózsa, singer and voice teacher (d. 2010)
• May 21 – Dennis Day, US singer (d. 1988)
• May 22 – Georg Tintner, Austrian conductor (d. 1999)
• May 28 – Papa John Creach, fiddler (Jefferson Airplane) (d. 1994)
• June 4 – Robert Merrill, operatic baritone (d. 2004)
• June 7 – Dean Martin, singer and actor (d. 1995)
• June 19 – Dave Lambert, US singer and arranger (d. 1966)
• June 29
  • Sylvia Olden Lee, vocal coach and accompanist (d. 2004)
  • Ulpio Minucci, songwriter and composer (d. 2007)
• June 24 – Ramblin' Tommy Scott, American singer and guitarist (d. 2013)
• June 30 – Lena Horne, singer (died 2010)
• July 2 – Murry Wilson, American songwriter, producer and manager (d. 1973)
• July 14 – Roshan, Bollywood composer (d. 1967)
• July 17 – Red Sovine, American country & folk singer-songwriter (d. 1980)
• July 24
  • Henri Betti, French composer and pianist (d. 2005)
  • Robert Farnon, composer (d. 2005)
  • Leonor Orosa Goquinco, pianist and dancer (d. 2005)
• August 3 – Antonio Lauro, guitarist and composer (d. 1986)
• August 17 – Walter Brown, blues shouter (d. 1956)
• August 22 – John Lee Hooker, blues musician (d. 2001)
• August 23 – Tex Williams, American country singer (d. 1985)
• September 5 – Art Rupe, founder of Specialty Records (d. 2022)
• September 11 – Myrta Silva, singer and composer (d. 1987)
• September 13 – Robert Ward, composer (d. 2013)
• September 15 – Richard Arnell, English composer (d. 2009)
• September 30 – Buddy Rich, American jazz drummer (d. 1987)
• October 4 – Violeta Parra, Chilean folk musician (suicide 1967)
• October 7 – June Allyson, American singer and actress (d. 2006)
• October 10 – Thelonious Monk, American jazz pianist (d. 1982)
• October 13 – George Osmond, father of the Osmond brothers (d. 2007)
• October 21
  • William Adam, trumpeter (d. 2013)
  • Dizzy Gillespie, jazz musician (d. 1993)
• October 24 – Mike Pedicin, jazz bandleader (d. 2016)
• October 31 – Anna Marly, French singer-songwriter (d. 2006)
• November 12
  • Hedley Jones, Jamaican musician (d. 2017)
  • Jo Stafford, American pop singer (d. 2008)

• January – Friederike Grün, operatic soprano (born 1836)
• January 13 – Albert Niemann, Wagnerian tenor (b. 1831)
• February 10 – Emile Pessard, French composer (b. 1843)
• February 25 – Paul Rubens, English songwriter (b. 1875)
• March 1 – Antonina Miliukova, widow of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (b. 1848)
• March 4 – Julius Bechgaard, Danish composer (b. 1843)
• March 25 – Spyridon Samaras, composer (b. 1861)
• April 1 – Scott Joplin, ragtime composer (b. 1868)
• April 29 – Florence Farr, actress, singer and composer (b. 1860)
• May 20 – Romilda Pantaleoni, operatic soprano (b. 1847)
• May 25 – Edouard de Reszke, operatic bass (b. 1853)
• June 12 – Teresa Carreño, pianist, singer and conductor (b. 1853)
• July 16 – Philipp Scharwenka, composer (b. 1847)
• August 7 – Basil Hood, librettist and lyricist (b. 1864)
• August 12 – Pavel Gerdt, dancer (b. 1844)
• September 5 – Marie Hanfstängl, operatic soprano (b. 1848)
• September 8 – Charles Edouard Lefebvre, French composer (b. 1843)
• September 11 – Evie Greene, actress and singer (b. 1875)
• September 15 – Elias Oechsler, composer (b. 1850)
• October 3 – Eduardo di Capua, singer and songwriter (b. 1865)
• December 7 – Ludwig Minkus, violinist and composer (b. 1826)
• December 9 – Nat M. Wills, singer, comedian, and actor (b. 1873)