Enrico Caruso (1873-1921)
Italian operatic tenor (Faust), dies of pleurisy at 48
- 1933 Arthur Collins, American baritone vocalist, known as 'King of the Ragtime Singers' (Peerless Quartet), and comedian, dies at 69
- 1938 Bjarni Thorsteinsson, Icelandic organist, composer, musical folklorist, and priest, dies at 76
- 1945 Emil Nikolaus von Reznicek, Austrian composer (Donna Diana), dies at 85
- 1945 Pietro Mascagni, Italian opera composer (Cavalleria Rusticana), dies at 81
- 1953 Betty Jack Davis, American country singer (with Skeeter Davis in The Davis Sisters), killed in car crash at 21
- 1954 Rene Amengual, Chilean pianist, composer and educator, dies at 42
- 1959 Prospero Bisquertt, Chilean composer, dies at 78
- 1964 José María Castro, Argentine composer, dies at 71
- 1965 Milton B. Babbitt, American composer (Widow's Lament), dies at 49
- 1969 Clarence Dickinson, American composer, dies at 96
- 1972 Brian Cole, American rock vocalist and bassist (The Association - "Windy"; "Cherish"), dies of a drug overdose at 29
- 1972 Rudolph Ganz, Swiss-American pianist, conductor (St. Louis Symphony, 1921-27), composer, and educator (Chicago Musical College, 1928-54), dies at 95
- 1978 Carlos Chávez, Mexican conductor and composer (Sinfonía India), dies at 79
- 1982 Rudolf Maros, Hungarian composer (Sirato/Lament; Euphonies), and pedagogue, dies at 65
- 1983 James Jamerson, American session bass guitarist (Motown Records' "Funk Brothers"), dies of alcohol-related complications at 47
- 1988 Roger Vuataz, Swiss organist, conductor, and composer, dies at 90
- 1989 Helmer-Rayner Sinisalo, Karelian-Soviet composer (Sampo), and educator, dies at 69
- 1992 Michel Berger [Hamburger], French singer-songwriter, and record producer. dies of a heart attack at 44
- 1995 Irwin Bazelon, American composer (Duo for Viola), dies at 73
Fela Kuti (1938-1997)
Nigerian Afrobeat musician and composer, dies of an illness, disputedly AIDS related, at 58
- 2001 Ron Townson, American singer (The 5th Dimension - "Up, Up and Away"), dies of kidney failure at 68
- 2003 Don Estelle [Ronald Edwards], British actor and singer ("It Ain't Half Hot Mum"), dies at 70
- 2004 Don Tosti, American musician ("Pachuco Boogie"), dies at 81
- 2011 DeLois Barrett Campbell, American gospel singer (Barrett Sisters), dies at 85
- 2012 Jimmy Jones, American singer-songwriter ("Handy Man"), dies at 75
- 2012 Marguerite Piazza, American operatic soprano (Young Broadway), dies at 86
- 2014 Rosetta Hightower, American pop singer (The Orlons - "Don't Hang Up"), dies at 70
- 2020 Leon Fleisher, American pianist and conductor (Annapolis Symphony 1970-82), dies of cancer at 92 [1]
- 2022 Ray Majors, British rock guitarist (Mott the Hoople, 1975-76; British Lions, 1977-78), dies at 73