Musicians Who Died on August 16

  • 1518 Loyset Compère, French composer
  • 1748 Pietro Giuseppe Sandoni, Italian composer, dies at 63
  • 1786 Henri-Jacques de Croes, Flemish composer and violinist, dies at 80
  • 1799 Vincenzo Manfredini, Italian harpsichordist, composer, and music theorist, dies at 61
  • 1831 Eduard Brendler, Swedish composer, dies at 30
  • 1870 Edmund Passy, Swedish composer, dies at 80
  • 1873 Georg Hellmesberger Sr, Austrian violinist, conductor (Vienna Philharmonic, 1842-67), and composer, dies at 73
  • 1910 Charles Lenepveu, French composer, dies at 69
  • 1911 Karl Munzinger, Swiss conductor and composer, dies at 68
  • 1929 Frank Valentine der Stucken, American-Belgian composer, dies at 70

Robert Johnson (1911-1938)

American blues singer-songwriter, and guitarist (King of Delta Blues Singers), poisoned at 27

  • 1944 Roman Padlewski, Polish violinist, composer, and underground resistance fighter, dies of battle injuries sustained during the Warsaw Uprising at 28 [1]
  • 1945 Nico Richter, Dutch composer, dies at 29
  • 1959 Pedro Humberto Allende Saron, Chilean composer (Tonados), dies at 74
  • 1959 Wanda Landowska, Polish-French harpsichordist (Musique Ancienne), dies at 80
  • 1965 Vasily Petrovich Shirinsky, Russian composer, dies at 64
  • 1968 (Robert) "Cutty" Cutshall, American jazz trombonist (Benny Goodman Orchestra; Eddie Condon), dies at 66
  • 1968 Luis Gianneo, Argentine pianist, organist, conductor, composer, and teacher, dies at 71
  • 1972 John Barnes Chance, American composer, dies at 39

Elvis Presley (1935-1977)

American King of Rock and Roll ("Hound Dog"; "Love Me Tender"; "Heartbreak Hotel"; "Suspicious Minds"), and actor (Jailhouse Rock; King Creole), dies at Graceland at 42, with the official cause of death being cardiac arrhythmia

  • 1984 György Kósa, Hungarian composer, dies at 87
  • 1986 John Hurley, American songwriter ("Son of a Preacher Man"), dies from liver failure and a brain hemorrhage at 45
  • 1986 Werner Fussan, German composer (Heiteres Aquarium) and educator, dies at 73
  • 1988 Milton Adolphus, American pianist and composer, dies at 75
  • 1992 Don "Pixie" Roberts, Australian jazz clarinetist, saxophone player, and record label executive (Swaggle), dies at 75
  • 1992 Mark Heard, Christian musician, dies at 41 of a heart attack
  • 1995 Robert "Bobby" Debarge, R&B Musician, dies of AIDS at 39
  • 1997 Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Pakistani qawwal (Sufi devotional music) vocalist, and composer, dies of cardiac arrest at 48
  • 2000 Alan Caddy, English musician (The Tornados), dies at 60
  • 2003 Andrew Pryce Jackman, British progressive rock keyboardist, arranger and composer, dies of a heart attack at 67
  • 2005 Vassar Clements, American musician (b. 1928)
  • 2005 Vicky Moscholiou, Greek singer (b. 1943)
  • 2006 Jon Nödtveidt, Swedish musician (Dissection), dies at 31
  • 2007 Max Roach, American percussionist, drummer, and composer (b. 1924)
  • 2008 Dorival Caymmi, Brazilian singer and songwriter, dies at 94 [1]
  • 2008 Lucrecia Roces Kasilag, Filipina composer (Filiasiana), concert pianist, and educator (Bayanihan Dance Company), dies of pneumonia 89
  • 2008 Ronnie Drew, Irish singer (The Dubliners), dies at 73

Aretha Franklin (1942-2018)

American singer known as "The Queen of Soul" ("Respect"; "Think"; "Chain of Fools"), pianist, songwriter, and first female performer inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1987), dies of pancreatic cancer at 76

  • 2019 Princess Christina [Maria Christina], Dutch royal, singer, and dance therapist, dies of bone cancer at 72
  • 2023 Jerry Moss, American music promoter and record label executive (co-founded A&M Records, with Herb Alpert), dies at 88
  • 2023 Renata Scotto, Italian soprano (Metropolitan Opera, 1965-87; La Traviata - "Violetta") and opera director, dies at 89 [1]