On This Day

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Musicians Who Died in 1964

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  • Jan 1 Otto Olsson, Swedish organist (Gustaf Vasa Church, 1907-56), composer, and teacher (Royal Swedish Academy, 1908-45), dies at 84
  • Jan 4 (Arthur) "Artie" Bernstein, American jazz and session double bassist (The Dorsey Brothers), dies at 54
  • Jan 7 Colin McPhee, Canadian-American pianist, composer (Tabuh-Tabuhan; H2O; Mechanical Principles), and ethnomusicologist (Bali), dies at 63
  • Jan 7 Cyril Davies, American musician (b. 1932)
  • Jan 9 Frank "Big Boy" Goudie, American jazz tenor saxophonist and clarinetist, and upholsterer, dies of cancer at 64
  • Jan 15 (Weldon Leo) "Jack" Teagarden, American jazz trombonist (Paul Whiteman, 1933-38; Louis Armstrong's All-Stars, 1946-51), singer ("Basin Street Blues"), and bandleader, dies from bronchial pneumonia at 58
  • Jan 20 Jan Rychlik, Czech composer, dies at 47
  • Jan 22 Marc Blitzstein, American opera and theater composer, librettist (The Cradle Will Rock), and translator (Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill works), killed by a sailor at 58
  • Jan 23 Louis Horst, American dance choreographer and composer, dies at 80
  • Jan 27 Lieb Glantz, Ukrainian-born tenor, composer and Zionist, dies at 65
  • Feb 3 Haakon Stotijn, Dutch oboist (Orkestgebouw Orchestra), dies at 49
  • Feb 9 Willie Bryant, American jazz singer, bandleader, and disc jockey (Sugar Hill Times), dies of a heart attack at 55
  • Mar 1 Sergius Kagen, American pianist and composer, dies at 54
  • Mar 20 Jean Rogister, Belgian virtuoso violist and composer, dies at 84
  • Mar 30 Willem Andriessen, Dutch composer and pianist (Beethoven), dies at 76
  • Apr 1 Božidar Kunc, Croatian concert pianist and composer, dies of a heart attack backstage after a performance with the Detroit Symphony at 60
  • Apr 18 Albe Vidaković, Croatian composer, dies at 49
  • May 6 Harold Morris, American pianist and composer, dies at 74
  • May 10 Carol Haney, dancer (Pantomime Quiz), dies at 35
  • May 10 Ignace Lilien, Dutch-Austrian composer, dies at 66
  • May 20 Rudy Lewis, American pop vocalist (The Drifters - "Up On The Roof"; "On Broadway), dies of a probable drug overdose at 27
  • May 25 Vasily Andreyevich Zolotaryov, Russian composer (Rhapsodie hébraïque; Prince Lake), and teacher, dies at 92
  • May 28 John Finley Williamson, American choral conductor (Westminster Choir College, 1920-58), dies at 76
  • Jun 1 Rutkowski Bronislaw, Belarusian organist, pedagogue, and composer, dies at 66
  • Jun 10 Louis Gruenberg, Russian-American composer (Daniel Jazz), dies at 79
  • Jun 18 Alexander Shamil'yevich Melik-Pashayev, Georgian conductor and composer (Bol’shoy Theatre, 1931-62), dies at 58
  • Jun 27 Daniel Lazarus, French composer, dies at 65
  • Jun 29 Eric Dolphy, American jazz saxophone, bass clarinet, and flute player, dies of insulin shock at 36
  • Jun 29 Milenko Živković, Serbian composer, conductor, and pedagogue, dies at 63
  • Jul 1 Pierre Monteux, French-American conductor (Boston Symphony, 1919-24; Concertgebouw, 1924–34; Orchestre Symphonique de Paris, 1929–38; San Francisco Symphony, 1936–52, London Symphony, 1961-64), dies at 89
  • Jul 4 Hank Sylvern [Henry Silverstein], American organist, radio and television theme composer and musical director (Suspense; Jane Froman's USA Canteen; The Phil Silvers Show), dies at 56
  • Jul 31 Jim Reeves, American country singer ("He'll Have To Go"; "Distant Drums"), and actor (Kimberley Jim), dies in airplane crash at 39
  • Aug 2 José María Castro, Argentine composer, dies at 71
  • Aug 14 Johnny Burnette, American rockabilly singer-songwriter and guitarist ('Train Kept A-Rollin'"; "You're Sixteen"), drowns in nighttime boating mishap at 30
  • Aug 24 Maurice Schoemaker, Belgian composer (Fireworks), dies at 73
  • Aug 27 Aleksey Semyonovich Zhivotov, Russian composer, dies at 59
  • Sep 1 George Georgescu, Romanian conductor and composer, dies at 76
  • Sep 1 Otto Emanuel Olsson, Swedish organist and composer, dies at 84
  • Sep 3 Joseph Marx, Austrian composer and music critic, dies at 82
  • Sep 9 Charles O'Neill, Canadian composer, dies at 82
  • Sep 14 Mary Howe, American composer and pianist (Sand), dies at 82
  • Sep 16 Ernest Hill, American jazz double-bassist, dies at 64
  • Sep 28 George Dyson, English musician and composer, dies at 81
  • Sep 28 Nacio Herb Brown, American composer (Singin' In The Rain), dies at 68
  • Oct 1 Ernst Toch, Austrian composer (Geographical Fugue), music theorist (Melodielehre), and Pulitzer Prize winner (1956), dies at 76
  • Oct 10 Bedřich Havlík, Czech composer, dies at 71
  • Oct 10 Heinrich Neuhaus, Soviet pianist (The Art of Piano Playing), dies at 76
  • Oct 10 Russ Case, American orchestra leader (Julius La Rosa Show), dies at 52

Cole Porter (1891-1964)

Oct 15 American composer and lyricist ("Anything Goes"; "Night And Day"; "I've Got You Under My Skin"), dies of kidney failure at 73

Cole Porter
  • Nov 3 John Henry Barbee, American blues guitarist and singer, dies of a heart attack at 58
  • Nov 5 (Edwin) "Buddy" Cole, American jazz and session pianist, Hammond organist, orchestra leader, and composer ("Truth Or Consequences"), dies at 47
  • Nov 5 Alexander Uriah Boskovich, Israeli composer, dies at 57
  • Nov 10 Jimmie Dodd, American actor (The Mickey Mouse Club; Thundering Trails; Riders of the Rio Grande), and singer-songwriter, dies of cancer at 54
  • Nov 11 Edward Steuermann, Austrian American composer, dies at 72
  • Nov 16 Albert Hay Malotte, composer, dies at 69
  • Nov 20 John Tasker Howard, American composer and music historian, dies at 73
  • Nov 24 (Edwin) "Buster" Pickens. American blues pianist (Texas Alexander; Lightnin' Hopkins), shot dead by his cousin during a barroom argument at 48
  • Nov 30 Don Redman, American jazz musician and orchestra leader (Sugar Hill Times), dies at 64

Sam Cooke (1931-1964)

Dec 11 American singer and entrepreneur described as "the inventor of soul music" ("You Send Me"; "A Change Is Gonna Come"), shot to death at 33

Sam Cooke
  • Dec 22 Bonifacio Gil Garcia, Spanish composer and folklorist, dies at 66
  • Dec 23 Arrigo Pedrollo, Italian composer, dies at 86
  • Dec 28 Dave Bowman, American jazz and studio pianist (Jack Teagarden; Bud Freeman; Perry Como), dies in a car accident at 50
  • Dec 29 Miroslav Krejčí, Czech composer, dies at 73


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