- Jan 1 Hermann Zilcher, German pianist and composer (Dr Eisenbart, Die Liebesmesse), dies at 66
- Jan 1 Willem Landré, Dutch composer, and music educator, dies at 73
- Jan 8 Richard Tauber [Denemy], Austrian-British operatic tenor and film actor, dies of lung cancer at 56
- Jan 9 Violet Gordon-Woodhouse, British musician (harpsichord and clavichord), dies at 75
- Jan 26 Ignaz Friedman, Polish pianist and composer, dies at 65
- Feb 7 Red McKenzie, American jazz singer (played comb-with-tissue-paper), dies at 48
- Feb 21 Frederick Lamond, Scottish pianist and composer, dies at 80
- Mar 3 Antonin Artaud, French songwriter and director (Theatre Seraphin), dies at 51
- Mar 27 Karel Candael, Flemish composer, dies at 64
- Apr 21 Carlos Lopez Buchardo, Argentine composer, dies at 66
- Apr 24 Jāzeps Vītols, Latvian composer, dies at 84
- Apr 24 Manuel Ponce, Mexican composer (Ferial), dies at 65
- May 8 Alfred Holy, Czech composer and harpist, dies at 81
- May 12 Isidor Achron, American composer, dies of a heart attack at 55
- May 24 Alfred Kastner, Austrian-American harpist and composer, dies at 78
- May 31 José Vianna da Motta, Portuguese composer, dies at 80
- Jun 1 Sonny Boy Williamson I [John Lee], American blues musician (Down & Out Blues), dies at 34
- Jun 7 Georges Hüe, French composer, dies at 90
- Jun 8 Franz Carl Bornschein, American composer, dies at 69
- Jun 14 Ernst Henrik Ellberg, Swedish composer, dies at 79
- Jun 14 John Blackwood McEwen, Scottish classical composer, dies at 80
- Jun 20 George Frederick Boyle, Australian-American composer, dies at 61
- Jun 27 George Templeton Strong, American composer, dies at 92
- Jul 21 Donald Nichols Tweedy, American composer, dies at 58
- Jul 27 Francesco Spetrino, Italian conductor and composer, dies at 91
- Aug 10 Lucille Bogan, American blues singer and songwriter ("Sweet Petunia"; "Black Angel Blues"), dies from coronary sclerosis at 51
- Aug 20 David John de Lloyd, Welsh musician composer, dies at 65
- Aug 26 Oscar L. Fernandez, Brazilian conductor and composer (Imbapara), dies at 50
- Aug 27 Oley Speaks, American composer (On the Road to Mandalay), dies at 74
- Aug 27 Oscar Lorenzo Fernández, Brazilian conductor and composer (Imbapara), dies at 50
- Sep 17 Ferruccio Giannini, Italian-American operatic tenor (one of the first to be recorded), teacher, and impresario (Verdi Opera House, Philadelphia), dies at 79
- Oct 8 Sven Holger Körling, Swedish organist, music teacher, and composer of children's songs, dies at 69
- Oct 23 Eugeniusz Morawski-Dabrowa, Polish composer, dies at 71
Franz Lehár (1870-1948)
Oct 24 Austrian-Hungarian composer (Wiener Frauen), dies at 78
- Nov 12 Umberto Giordano, Italian composer, chiefly of opera (was Andrea Chénier; Fedora; La cena delle beffe), dies at 81
- Nov 23 Uzeyir Hajibeyov, Soviet composer who composed the anthem used by Azerbaijan during the Soviet period, dies at 63
- Nov 24 Raoul Armand Georg Koczalski, composer, dies at 64
- Nov 30 Franco Vittadini, Italian composer, dies at 64
- Dec 7 Godfrey Turner, composer, dies at 35
- Dec 14 R. O. Morris [Reginald Owen], British composer and music teacher, dies at 62
- Dec 17 Edgar Istel, German composer, dies at 68
- Dec 18 William Arms Fisher, American composer, librettist (Going Home), musicologist, and educator, dies at 87
Country Singers
Jazz Singers
Opera Singers
Pop Singers
Rappers
Rock Singers