Musicians Who Died in 1938

Zitkála-Šá (1876-1938)

Jan 26 Native American (Yankton Dakota) writer, violinist, librettist (The Sun Dance Opera), educator, and political activist, dies at 61

  • Feb 21 Albert Huybrechts, Belgian composer, dies at 39
  • Mar 2 Ben Harney, American composer and 'Father of Ragtime Piano' ("You've Been a Good Old Wagon, But You Done Broke Down"), dies of a heart attack at 66 [1]
  • Mar 9 Sydney Baynes, British conductor, arranger, bandleader and composer (Destiny Waltz; Endure to Conquer), dies at 59
  • Mar 18 Cyril Rootham, English composer, dies at 62
  • Apr 10 Joseph "King" Oliver, American jazz cornet player, composer, bandleader, and mentor to Louis Armstrong, dies of arteriosclerosis at 56 [1]
  • Apr 12 Feodor Chaliapine, Russian operatic bass-baritone singer (Man and Mask: Forty Years in the Life of a Singer), dies of leukemia at 65
  • Apr 18 Richard Terry, English organist and musicologist, dies at 73

James Weldon Johnson (1871-1938)

Jun 26 American Harlem Renaissance poet, lyricist ("Lift Every Voice And Sing"), civil rights activist, and leader of the NAACP, dies in a car crash at 67

  • Aug 2 Bjarni Thorsteinsson, Icelandic organist, composer, musical folklorist, and priest, dies at 76
  • Aug 4 Rudolf Georg Binding, German songwriter and writer (Legenden Der Zeit), dies at 70
  • Aug 10 Joseph Moorat, British composer (Prunella), dies at 73
  • Aug 14 Landon Ronald, British composer, pianist and teacher (Guildhall School of Music), dies at 65

Robert Johnson (1911-1938)

Aug 16 American blues singer-songwriter, and guitarist (King of Delta Blues Singers), poisoned at 27

  • Sep 27 Elmer Feldcamp, American big band baritone vocalist, saxophone, and clarinet player (Freddy Martin Orchestra), dies of heart failure at 36
  • Sep 28 Con Conrad, American songwriter and producer, dies at 48
  • Oct 3 Viktor Kosenko, Russian-Ukrainian pianist, composer (Moldavian Poem), and educator, dies of kidney cancer at 41
  • Oct 22 May Irwin, Canadian comedienne and singer (Hot Time in the Old Town), dies at 76
  • Nov 21 Leopold Godowsky, Polish-American pianist, composer (Java Suite; Triakontameron; 53 Studies on Chopin's Études), and pedagogue, dies of stomach cancer at 68
  • Dec 4 Dina Appeldoorn, Dutch classical pianist and composer, dies at 54
  • Dec 10 Mario Pilati, Italian composer, dies at 35
  • Dec 14 Maurice Emmanuel, French composer and musicologist (Salamine), dies at 76