- Aug 2 Brian Cole, American rock vocalist and bassist (The Association - "Windy"; "Cherish"), dies of a drug overdose at 29
- Aug 2 Rudolph Ganz, Swiss-American pianist, conductor (St. Louis Symphony, 1921-27), composer, and educator (Chicago Musical College, 1928-54), dies at 95
- Aug 3 Giannis "Yannis" Papaioannou, Greek musician and composer, dies at 64
- Aug 7 Joi Lansing [Joyce Brown], American model, film and television actress, and nightclub singer (Touch of Evil, Bob Cummings Show), dies of cancer at 43
- Aug 9 Richard Elsasser, American composer and organist, dies at 45
- Aug 15 Alf Hurum, Norwegian composer (Lilja), and painter, dies at 89
- Aug 16 John Barnes Chance, American composer, dies at 39
- Aug 23 Balys Dvarionas, Lithuanian pianist, composer and educator, dies at 68
- Aug 24 [Carlos] Don Byas, American swing and be-bop jazz saxophonist, and bandleader, dies of lung cancer at 59
- Aug 25 Juan Carlos Paz, composer, dies at 71
- Aug 25 Robert Denzler, Swiss concert pianist, conductor, champion of contemporary music, and composer, dies at 80
- Aug 29 Lale Andersen [Elisabeth Bunnenberg], German singer and actress (Der Pott), dies at 67
- Aug 29 René Leibowitz, Polish-French jazz pianist, classical composer, conductor, and educator, dies at 59
Country Singers
Jazz Singers
Opera Singers
Pop Singers
Rappers
Rock Singers