1727 William Croft, English composer and organist, dies at 48
1763 Giovanni Battista Somis, Italian Baroque violinist and composer, dies at 76
1834 Friedrich Christian Ruppe, German-Dutch composer and violinist, brother of Christian Friedrich Ruppe, dies at 63
1867 Nicola Benvenuti, Italian composer, dies at 84
1938 Landon Ronald, British composer, pianist and teacher (Guildhall School of Music), dies at 65
1958 "Big" Bill Broonzy, American blues singer and guitarist (Blues by Broonzy), dies of cancer at 65
1961 Guido Alberto Fano, Italian composer and pianist, dies at 86
1962 June Richmond, American jazz singer (Jimmy Dorsey; Cab Calloway; Andy Kirk - "Hey Lawdy Mama"), dies of a heart attack at 47 [1]
1963 Clyde Hurley, American session and big band jazz trumpeter (Glenn Miller - "Tuxedo Junction"; "In The Mood"), dies of heart failure at 46
1964 Johnny Burnette, American rockabilly singer-songwriter and guitarist ('Train Kept A-Rollin'"; "You're Sixteen"), drowns in nighttime boating mishap at 30
1970 Vano Muradeli, Soviet Georgian composer (The Great Friendship; Our Leader), and pedagogue, dies at 62
1978 (Giuseppe) "Joe" Venuti, American jazz musician and pioneer violinist considered the "father of jazz violin", dies of cancer at 74
1984 (John) "Bobo" Jenkins, American blues singer-songwriter (Democrat Blues), dies at 68
1984 Peter Wishart, English composer, dies at 63
1988 Robert Calvert, South African-British writer and musician (Hawkwind), dies of a heart attack at 43
1988 Roy Buchanan, American blues guitarist, takes his own life after being arrested for public drunkenness at 48
1990 Chester Zardis, American jazz 'slap-style' double-bassist, dies at 90
1992 Tony Williams, American singer (The Platters, 1953-59 - "Only You"; "Great Pretender"), dies at 64
1996 Sergiu Celibidache, Romanian conductor (Berlin Philharmonic, 1945-57; Munich Philharmonic, 1979-96), and educator, dies at 84
2002 Dave Williams, American rock singer (Drowning Pool), dies of heart failure due to undiagnosed hypertrophic cardiomyopathy at 30
2007 Tikhon Nikolayevich Khrennikov, Soviet composer and leader of the Union of Soviet Composer, dies at 94
2008 Lita Roza, British singer ("How Much is That Doggie in the Window"), dies at 82
2010 Abbey Lincoln [Anna Wooldridge], African-American jazz vocalist, songwriter, actress (Nothing But a Man), and civil rights activist, dies at 80
2013 Allen Lanier, American rock keyboardist, guitarist and vocalist (Blue Oyster Cult), dies from complications from COPD at 67
2015 Gordon "Jazz" Summers, British music manager (Wham; Snow Patrol), dies at 71
2015 [Donald William] Bob Johnston, American music producer (Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash), dies at 83
2018 Jill Janus, American heavy metal singer (Huntress), commits suicide at 43
2019 Ivo Malec, Croat-French composer (Miniatures pour Lewis Carroll; Lumina), dies at 94
2020 Julian Bream, English classical guitarist and lutenist, dies at 87
2021 Igor Oistrakh, Soviet-Russian concert violinist (Wieniawski Competition, 1952), and educator (Moscow Conservatory, Brussels Royal Conservatory), dies at 90
2021 R. Murray Schafer, Canadian composer (Patria), music educator, and environmentalist, dies of complications Alzheimer's disease at 88
2023 Agustín González Acilu, Spanish composer (Prince of Viana Prize), and educator, dies at 94
Assassination
Drug Overdose
Gunshot Wound
Murder
Plane Crash
Suicide