- Dec 3 (John) "Ozzy" Osbourne, English heavy metal vocalist and songwriter (Black Sabbath), born in Birmingham, England
- Dec 4 Southside Johnny [Lyons], American rocker (Asbury Jukes - "I Don't Want Go Home"; "Talk To Me"), born in Neptune, New Jersey
- Dec 6 Marius Müller-Westernhagen, German rocker (Stinker), born in Düsseldorf, Germany
- Dec 7 Gary Morris, American country singer ("100% Chance of Rain"), and actor (The Colbys), born in Fort Worth, Texas
- Dec 7 Mads Vinding, Danish jazz double-bassist, born in Copenhagen, Denmark
- Dec 7 Yoko Morishita, Japanese prima ballerina (Baterina No Habataki), born in Hiroshima, Japan
- Dec 10 Jessica Cleaves, American soul singer and songwriter (The Friends of Distinction - "Grazing In The Grass"; Earth, Wind & Fire; Parliament Funkadelic), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2014)
- Dec 11 Chester Thompson, American session and touring drummer and percussionist (Frank Zappa; Genesis; Chester Thompson Trio), born in Baltimore, Maryland
- Dec 11 Stamatis Spanoudakis, Greek guitarist and composer, born in Athens, Greece
- Dec 12 Ray Jackson, British folk-rock mandolin and harmonica player (Lindisfarne, 1970-90), born in Wallsend, Northumberland, England
- Dec 13 Davy O'List, British rock guitarist (The Nice, 1967-68; Roxy Music, 1970-72), born in Chiswick, England
- Dec 13 Jeff "Skunk" Baxter, American rock guitarist (Steely Dan, 1972-74; The Doobie Brothers, 1974-79), and missile defense consultant, born in Washington, D.C.
- Dec 13 Ted Nugent, American rock guitarist ("Cat Scratch Fever"; Damn Yankees) and right-wing gun advocate, born in Detroit, Michigan
- Dec 17 James Alexander, American R&B bassist (The Bar-Kays - "Soul Finger"; "Shaft"), born in Memphis, Tennessee
- Dec 17 Jim Bonfanti, American drummer (Raspberries - "Go All the Way"), born in Windber, Pennsylvania
- Dec 18 Bill Nelson, British progressive rock guitarist, singer, and songwriter (Be-Bop Deluxe), born in Wakefield, West Riding of Yorkshire, England
- Dec 18 Laurent Voulzy, French singer and composer, born in Paris, France
- Dec 20 Alan Parsons, British music producer (The Alan Parsons Project - I Robot) and recording engineer (The Dark Side of the Moon; Let it Be), born in London, England
- Dec 20 Stevie Wright, Australian singer with the Easybeats ("Friday On My Mind"), born in Leeds, West Yorkshire (d. 2015)
- Dec 21 (Wilhelm) "Willi" Resetarits, Austrian singer and human rights activist, born in Stinatz, Austria (d. 2022)
- Dec 22 Rick Nielsen, American rock vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter (Cheap Trick - "I Want You to Want Me"; "The Flame"), born in Elmhurst, Illinois
Barbara Mandrell (75 years old)
Dec 25 American country singer and TV host (Mandrell Sisters), born in Houston, Texas
- Dec 25 Merry Clayton, American soul, gospel, and session singer (Ray Charles; Rolling Stones - "Gimme Shelter"; Ringo Starr - "Oh My My"), and documentary subject (20 Feet From Stardom), born in Gert Town, New Orleans, Louisiana
- Dec 27 Larry Byrom, American rock guitarist (Steppenwolf, 1969-71), born in Huntsville, Alabama
- Dec 27 Martin Birch, British sound engineer (Fleetwood Mac; Deep Purple ) and record producer (Whitesnake; Iron Maiden), born in Woking, Surrey, England (d. 2020)
- Dec 28 Mary Weiss, American pop singer (The Shangri-Las - "Leader of the Pack"), born in Jamaica, Queens, NYC (d. 2024)
Donna Summer (1948-2012)
Dec 31 American disco and pop singer-songwriter ("Love to Love You, Baby"; "On the Radio"; "Last Dance"), born in Boston, Massachusetts
- Dec 31 Stephen Cleobury, British organist and music director (King's College - Cambridge, 1982-2019), born in Bromley, England (d. 2019)
About December 1948
How Old? 75 years old
Generation: Baby Boomer
Leap Year: Yes
Chinese Zodiac: Rat
Star Signs: Sagittarius (Nov 22 - Dec 21), Capricorn (Dec 22 - Jan 19)
Country Singers
Jazz Singers
Opera Singers
Pop Singers
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Rock Singers