Events in 1938
- Actress and singer Connie Stevens was born in Brooklyn, New York. In 1960, she had the hit "Sixteen Reasons", which reached No. 3.
- David Cortez Clowney was born in Detroit, Michigan, later becoming known as Dave “Baby” Cortez.
- Musician and founding member of the rock 'n' roll group Sha Na Na was born.
- R&B and pop singer and actress Ketty Lester, best known for the 1962 hit "Love Letters", was born in Hope, Arkansas.
- American blues musician Robert Johnson died at the age of 27, probably poisoned near Greenwood, Mississippi. His recordings from 1936–1937 influenced generations of musicians.
- Singer and songwriter Ernie Maresca, the writer of several hits by Dion, was born in the Bronx, New York.
- Country and pop singer, songwriter and producer Kenny Rogers was born in Houston, Texas. His best-known song “The Gambler” was released when he was 40 years old.
- Lyricist and producer Roger Greenaway was born in Fishponds, Bristol, Gloucestershire. He was a member of David & Jonathan and The Kestrels and became known for his songwriting partnership with Roger Cook on songs including “My Baby Loves Lovin'”, “Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress”, “Gasoline Alley Bred”, “You've Got Your Troubles”, “Melting Pot”, “Good Morning Freedom”, “Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart” and “I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing (In Perfect Harmony)”, which originally originated as a Coca-Cola advertising slogan.
- American multi-instrumentalist and singer David Freiberg was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He became known as a bassist and member of Quicksilver Messenger Service, Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship.
- Mason Williams was born in Abilene, Texas. In addition to working as a comedy writer for The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour and Saturday Night Live, he also worked as a guitarist and composer.
- Teen idol Jimmy Clanton was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He became known for the swamp pop and R&B hits “Just a Dream” from 1958 and “Venus in Blue Jeans” from 1962.
- Blues guitarist Earl Wade was born.
- American blues, rock, and folk singer, songwriter, and guitarist Nick Gravenites was born. He was known for his work with Electric Flag, Janis Joplin, and Mike Bloomfield. He wrote several songs for Joplin, including “Work Me, Lord,” and produced the hit “One Toke Over the Line” for Brewer & Shipley and the album “Right Place, Wrong Time” for Otis Rush, for which he was nominated for a Grammy.
- American rock 'n' roll and rockabilly singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist was born in Albert Lea, Minnesota. He became famous for songs including “Twenty Flight Rock,” “C’mon Everybody” and “Summertime Blues,” which reached No. 8 in the US in 1958; in 1960, “Three Steps To Heaven” reached No. 1 in Britain. He experimented with multitrack recording, distortion and overdubbing as early as his first singles and played guitar, piano, bass and drums. He died on April 17, 1960, at the age of 21 in a car accident while touring in Britain; songwriter Sharon Sheeley and singer Gene Vincent were also in the car and survived the crash.
- American country singer and guitarist Johnny Duncan was born in Dublin, Texas. During his career he released 14 studio albums and had more than 30 charting singles, three of which reached No. 1.
- At the age of 16, Judy Garland recorded “Over the Rainbow” on the MGM soundstage in Beverly Hills for the film The Wizard of Oz. The recording was made on October 7, 1938, and became the basis for the later film version; the commercial studio recording for Decca was not made until 1939.
- Bill Monroe made his Grand Ole Opry debut.
- Jean King, an American singer with The Blossoms, is born. The group was produced by Phil Spector. She also sang with Ray Charles’s backing group the Raelettes and worked as a backing vocalist with other well-known artists.