Musicians Who Died on August 13

  • 1808 Henri Hardouin, French composer, dies at 81
  • 1841 Bernhard Romberg, German cellist, composer and royal chaplain bandmaster, dies at 73
  • 1886 Adolf von Doss, German composer, dies at 62
  • 1908 Ira D. Sankey, American evangelist, singer, composer and publisher (Gospel Hymns and Sacred Songs), dies at 67

Jules Massenet (1842-1912)

French opera composer (Werther; Manon), dies of abdominal cancer at 70

  • 1916 Fritz Steinbach, German conductor and composer, dies at 61
  • 1924 Julian Aguirre, Argentine composer and pianist, dies at 56
  • 1928 Fernand de La Tombelle, French organist and composer, dies at 74
  • 1933 Paul Hillemacher, French classical pianist, and composer, dies at 80
  • 1946 Valery Zhelobinsky, Russian composer, dies at 33
  • 1947 Tobias Norlind, Swedish musicologist, dies at 68
  • 1953 Dmitri Arakishvili, Soviet and Georgian composer, dies at 80
  • 1954 Hermann W. S. Waltershausen, German musicologist and composer, dies at 71
  • 1959 Henri Garat [Garascu], French actor (Congress Dances), and singer ("Les dieux s'amusent"), dies at 57
  • 1970 Viktor Trambitsky, Russian composer, dies at 75
  • 1971 King Curtis [Ousley], American Grammy Award-winning R&B, rock, jazz, and session saxophonist bandleader ("Memphis Soul Stew"; Aretha Franklin; John Lennon), murdered during an argument with a vagrant outside of his NYC home at 37
  • 1974 (Harold) "Tina" Brooks, American hard-bop jazz saxophonist, and composer ("True Blue"), dies of liver failure at 42
  • 1982 Joe Tex [Joseph Arrington Jr.], American soul musician ("Hold What You've Got"; "I Gotcha"), dies at 49
  • 1986 Caterina Jarboro, African-American opera singer and 1st black female performer to sing on opera stage in US, dies at 88
  • 1987 Vincent Persichetti, American composer (Sibyl), dies at 72
  • 1994 Raymond Gallois-Montbrun, French violinist and composer, dies at 75
  • 1996 David Tudor, American pianist and composer, dies at 70
  • 1996 Louise Talma, American composer (Summer Sounds), dies at 89
  • 1998 Nino Ferrer, French-Italian singer and composer (Mirza, Cornichons), dies at 63
  • 2000 Nazia Hassan, Pakistani pop singer-songwriter, lawyer and social activist known as "Queen of Pop" in South Asia, dies of lung cancer at 35
  • 2003 Ed Townsend, American doo-wop singer, songwriter, and producer ("For Your Love"; Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On"), dies at 73
  • 2007 Tudor Jarda, Romanian composer, dies at 85
  • 2010 Esteban "Steve" Jordan, American conjunto, Tejano, rock and jazz accordion player, dies of liver cancer at 71
  • 2011 Topi Sorsakoski [Pekka Tammilehto], Finnish blues singer, and guitarist, dies of lung cancer at 58
  • 2013 (Thomas Paul) "Tompall" Glaser, American country singer ("Put Another Log on the Fire"), dies at 79
  • 2013 Jon Brookes, English drummer (The Charlatans), dies of cancer at 44
  • 2014 Frans Brüggen, Dutch flautist, recorder player, and conductor (Orchestra of the 18th Century), dies at 79
  • 2021 Nanci Griffith, American singer ("From A Distance"), and songwriter ("Once in a Very Blue Moon"; "Love at the Five and Dime"), dies at 68