- Jan 1 Juan Bautista Plaza, Venezuelan composer, dies at 66
- Jan 8 Aloÿs-Henri-Gérard Fornerod, Swiss composer, dies at 74
- Jan 14 Jeanette MacDonald, American soprano (When I'm Calling You), dies at 63
- Jan 20 (Albert) "Alan" Freed, American disc jockey and concert promoter who popularized the term "rock-n-roll", and payola scandal figure, dies of from uremia and cirrhosis at 43
- Jan 25 (Gustaaf) "Staf" Nees, Flemish-Belgian carillonist, organist, composer (Maria-oratorio), and educator, dies at 63
- Jan 27 Theo Uden Masman, Dutch big band orchestra leader (The Ramblers), dies at 63
- Jan 28 Jef van Durme, Belgian composer, dies at 57
- Jan 29 Jack Hylton, English orchestra leader and impresario (Crazy Passage Show), dies at 72
- Jan 29 Michał Spisak, Polish composer (Hymne Olympique), dies at 50
- Feb 2 Richard Würz, German composer, and music critic, dies at 79
- Feb 13 Jerry Burke, American easy-listening pianist and organ player (Lawrence Welk Orchestra, 1934-65), dies of cancer at 53
- Feb 14 Désiré Inghelbrecht, French composer, conductor and writer, dies at 84
Nat King Cole (1919-1965)
Feb 15 American jazz pianist and pop vocalist ("Unforgettable", "Mona Lisa"), dies of cancer at 49
- Mar 1 Boleslav Vomácka, Czech composer (Vodntk - The Water Sprite), critic, and musicologist (Josef Suk), dies at 77
- Mar 3 Carlo Gatti, Italian musicologist (Verdi), dies at 88
- Mar 6 Ruvim Pergament, composer, dies at 58
- Mar 8 Tadd Dameron, American jazz pianist, composer ("If You Could See Me Now"; "Lady Bird"), arranger (Count Basie, Jimmie Lunceford, Dizzy Gillespie, Billy Eckstine) and bandleader, dies of cancer at 48
- Mar 9 Anthon van der Horst, Dutch organist and composer, dies at 65
- Mar 19 Lavere "Buster" Harding, Canadian-American jazz pianist, composer and arranger (Count Basie; Dizzy Gillespie; Billie Holiday), dies at 53
- Mar 25 Giorgio Federico Ghedini, Italian composer, dies at 72
- Apr 2 Renzo Bossi, Italian composer, and educator (Milan Conservatory), dies at 81
- Apr 26 Aaron Avshalomov, Russian-Jewish-American composer (Kuan Yin; The Great Wall), conductor (Shanghai Municipal Orchestra, 1943-46), and librarian, dies at 70
- May 1 Leo Spies, Russian-born German composer, dies at 65
- May 1 Spike Jones [Lindley Armstrong Jones], American bandleader (Der Fueher's Face, Cocktails For Two), dies from emphysema at 53
- May 25 Sonny Boy Williamson II [Aleck Miller], American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter, dies at 65
- Jun 8 Erik Chisholm, Scottish conductor, composer (Hindustani Piano Concerto), and educator (South African College of Music, 1949-65), dies of a heart attack at 61
- Jun 14 Guido Guerrini, Italian composer, dies at 74
- Jun 18 George Melachrino, English composer, dies at 56
- Jun 20 Ira Louvin [Loudermilk], American country singer and mandolin player (Louvin Brothers - "The Only Way Out (Is to Walk Over Me)"), dies in a car crash at 41
- Jun 28 (Ernest) "Red" Nichols, American jazz cornetist, composer and jazz bandleader (His Five Pennies - "Ida, Sweet as Apple Cider"; "Bugler's Lament"), dies of a heart attack at 60 [1]
- Jun 29 Joseph Ryelandt, Belgian composer (Christus Rex - Christ the King), dies at 95
- Jul 1 Claude Thornhill, American pianist, arranger (Andre Kostelanetz; Tony Bennett), composer ("Snowfall"), and bandleader ("A Sunday Kind of Love"), dies of a heart attack at 56
- Jul 4 Valdemar Eiberg, Danish jazz pioneer, saxophonist, and bandleader ("I've Got a Cross-Eyed Papa"), dies at 72
- Jul 17 Luiz Cosme, Brazilian composer, dies at 57
- Jul 18 Shalva Mikhailovich Taktakishvili, Russian composer, teacher, and conductor (Georgian State Orchestra, 1952-65), dies at 64
- Jul 28 Maurice Yvain, French composer, dies at 74
- Aug 1 Kiyoshi Nobutoki, Japanese cellist and composer, dies at 77
- Aug 2 Milton B. Babbitt, American composer (Widow's Lament), dies at 49
- Aug 6 Peter Ronnefeld, German pianist, composer and conductor (Die Nachtausgabe), dies at 30
- Aug 16 Vasily Petrovich Shirinsky, Russian composer, dies at 64
- Aug 27 Otto Reinhold, German composer, dies at 66
- Sep 6 (Ernest) "Red" Ingle, American jazz and novelty saxophonist, songwriter, arranger and vocalist (Ted Weems; Spike Jones and His City Slickers; The Natural Seven), dies of an internal hemorrhage at 58
- Sep 6 Konstantin G. Mostras, Russian composer, dies at 79
- Sep 9 Julián Antonio Carillo Trujillo, Mexican violinist, conductor and composer (D.W. Griffith's Intolerance), and music theorist (Sonido 13 / The Thirteenth Sound), dies at 90
- Sep 15 Steve Brown, American jazz musician, dies at 75
- Sep 16 Ahn Eak-tai, Korean cellist, composer (Aegukga - national anthem of South Korea), and conductor, dies at 58
- Sep 25 Nikolai Sokoloff, Russian-American conductor (Seattle Symphony), dies at 79
- Sep 27 Harry Reser, American banjo player and bandleader (Sammy Kaye Show), dies at 69
- Oct 5 Gustaf Adolf Tiburtius Bengtsson, Swedish composer, dies at 79
- Oct 15 Carl Hoff, American orchestra leader (Music Hall), dies at 60
- Oct 18 Frank Hutchens, composer, dies at 73
- Oct 21 Bill Black, American bandleader and bassist who worked with Elvis, dies of a brain tumor at 39
- Oct 21 Marie McDonald, American singer and actress known as "The Body Beautiful" (Promises Promises), dies of an accidental drug overdose at 42
- Oct 26 Hans Knappertsbusch, German conductor (Bavarian State Opera, 1922-36), dies at 77
- Oct 27 Edythe Wright, American big band era singer (Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, 1935-39), dies of pancreatic cancer at 51
- Oct 28 Earl Bostic, American jazz alto saxophonist ("Flamingo"; "Temptation"), dies at 52
- Nov 4 Krsto Odak, Croatian composer, dies at 77
- Nov 6 Clarence Williams, American composer, dies at 67
- Nov 6 Edgard Varèse, French-American composer (Ionisation; Poème électronique), dies at 81
- Nov 7 Friedrich Wildgans, Austrian composer, dies at 52
- Nov 25 Dame Myra Hess, British concert pianist, dies at 75
- Nov 27 Carl Parrish, American composer, dies at 61
- Dec 10 Henry Cowell, American pianist, composer (The Tides of Manaunaun; Aeolian Harp), and modern music promoter (New Musical Resources), dies of cancer at 68
- Dec 14 Herman Sandby, Danish cellist and composer, dies at 84
- Dec 16 Tito Schipa [Raffaele Attilio Amedeo Schipa], Italian tenor/composer (La Rondine), dies at 77
- Dec 21 Claude Champagne, Canadian composer, dies at 74
- Dec 29 Kōsaku Yamada, Japanese composer (Nagauta Symphony), and conductor, dies of a heart attack at 79
Country Singers
Jazz Musicians
Opera Singers
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