- Aug 2 Carlos Chávez, Mexican conductor and composer (Sinfonía India), dies at 79
- Aug 7 (Albert) Eddie Calvert, British trumpeter ("Oh, Mein Papa"; "Cherry Pink (and Apple Blossom White)"), dies of a heart attack at 56
- Aug 7 Franz Alphons Wolpert, German composer, dies at 60
- Aug 14 (Giuseppe) "Joe" Venuti, American jazz musician and pioneer violinist considered the "father of jazz violin", dies of cancer at 74
- Aug 15 Harrison Kerr, American composer, dies at 80
- Aug 20 Ivan Jirko, Czech composer, music critic and psychiatrist, dies at 51
- Aug 24 Louis Prima, American jazz and pop singer, trumpeter, and bandleader ("That Old Black Magic"; "Oh, Marie"), dies at 67
- Aug 26 Charles Trowbridge Haubiel, American composer, pianist and lecturer (Tre Ritratti Characteristici), dies at 86