- Jul 1 John Gould, British songwriter and composer for musical theater, born in Newquay, England
- Jul 3 Fontella Bass, American R&B and soul singer and songwriter ("Rescue Me"), born in St Louis, Missouri (d. 2012)
- Jul 3 Jerry "The Geator" Blavat, American disc jockey and music promoter, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 2023) [1]
- Jul 4 Dave Rowberry, English rock organist, and piano player (The Animals - "House of the Rising Sun"), born in Nottingham, England (d. 2003)
- Jul 5 Arthur Blythe, American jazz saxophonist, born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2017)
- Jul 6 Jeannie Seely, American country music singer ("Don't Touch Me"), born in Titusville, Pennsylvania
Ringo Starr (83 years old)
Jul 7 British drummer, vocalist (The Beatles - "Yellow Submarine"), songwriter ("Early 1970"; "Photograph"), actor (Caveman), "peace & love" activist, and knight, born in Dingle, Liverpool, England [1]
- Jul 8 Joe B. Mauldin, American rock double-bass player (The Crickets), songwriter, and recording engineer (Gold Start Studios), born In Lubbock, Texas (d. 2015)
- Jul 9 Manfred Jung, German operatic tenor (Wagner's heldentenor roles), born in Oberhausen, Germany (d. 2017)
- Jul 10 Helen Donath, American soprano, born in Corpus Christi, Texas
- Jul 11 Ronnie Mack, American singer-songwriter ("He's So Fine"), born in Harlem, New York (d. 1963)
- Jul 19 Vikki Carr [Florencia Vicenta de Casillas Martinez Cardona], American Grammy Award-winning pop and Latin singer ("It Must Be Him"; "Cosas del Amor"), born in El Paso, Texas
- Jul 20 Tony Allen, Nigerian drummer who pioneered Afrobeat sound, born in Lagos, Nigeria (d. 2020)
- Jul 22 Thomas Wayne, American rockabilly singer ("Tragedy"), born in Batesville, Mississippi (d. 1971)
- Jul 23 Gary Stites, American pop vocalist ("Lonely For You"), born in Denver, Colorado
- Jul 26 Dobie Gray [Lawrence Brown], American musician and singer ("Drift Away"), born in Simonton, Texas (d. 2011)
- Jul 26 Tolis Voskopoulos, Greek singer (Oi Erastes tou Oneirou), born in Kokkinia, Piraeus, Greece
- Jul 27 Pina Bausch, German dancer and choreographer, born in Solingen, Germany (d. 2009)
About July 1940
How Old? 83 years old
Generation: Silent Generation
Leap Year: Yes
Country Singers
Jazz Musicians
Opera Singers
Pop Stars
Rappers
Rockers