- Jan 5 Charles Mingus, American jazz bassist (Pithecanthropus Erectus), dies from complications of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) at 56
- Jan 7 Zbigniew Turski, Polish composer, dies at 70
- Jan 8 Sara Carter, American country musician, songwriter and vocalist (Carter Family), dies at 81
- Jan 9 Avery Claflin, American banker and composer ("Lament for April 15" - income tax form instructions set to music), dies at 80 [1]
- Jan 13 Donny Hathaway, American gospel and soul singer-songwriter, and keyboardist ("The Ghetto"; "Where is the Love?"), commits suicide at 33
- Jan 13 Marjorie Lawrence, Australian operatic soprano who specialized in Wagnerian roles, dies of heart failure at 71
- Jan 15 Euphemia Giannini Gregory, Italian-American opera singer and educator (Curtis Institute), dies at 83
- Jan 16 Fred Elizalde, Spanish Filipino composer, dies at 71
- Jan 18 Cyril Mockridge, British composer for film and television (Miracle On 34th Street; The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance), dies at 82
- Jan 20 Gustav Winckler, Danish pop singer ("Skibet skal sejle i nat"- "The Ship Is Leaving Tonight"), dies in a car crash at 53
- Jan 31 Grant Green, American jazz, blues and funk guitarist, and songwriter, dies of a heart attack at 43
Sid Vicious (1957-1979)
Feb 2 English musician and bassist (Sex Pistols), dies of a heroin overdose at 21
- Feb 7 Herbert "Peanuts" Holland, American swing jazz trumpeter, dies at 68
- Feb 21 Ray Whitley, American country and western singer-songwriter ("Back in the Saddle Again") and actor (Tim Holt films), dies at 77
- Mar 5 Vicente Ascone, Italian composer, dies at 81
- Mar 7 Guiomar Novaes, Barzilain concert pianist (Brazilian Order of Merit), dies at 84
- Mar 7 Klaus Egge, Norwegian composer (Fanitullen), dies at 72
- Mar 11 Jeanne Leleu, French pianist and composer, dies at 80
- Mar 15 Leonide Massine, Russian ballet dancer and choreographer (Diaghilev's Ballets Russes, 1914-20), dies at 82
- Mar 25 Anton Heiller, Austrian organist and composer, dies at 55
- Mar 29 Ray Ventura, French jazz pianist and big band bandleader ("Tout va très bien, Madame la Marquise"), dies at 69
- Apr 1 Bruno Coquatrix, French songwriter, music impresario (Olympia Hall, Paris), and politician, dies at 68
- Apr 6 Milton Ager, American composer, dies at 85
- Apr 10 Nino Rota [Giovanni Rota Rinaldi], Italian classical and film score composer (Il cappello di paglia di Firenze; The Godfather (I & II; 16 Fellini films), dies from a coronary thrombosis at 67
- Apr 12 Pernell Charity, American blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter, dies at 58
- Apr 23 Doug Rauch, American rock and jazz-fusion bassist (Santana, 1972-74), dies of a heroin overdose at 28
- Apr 28 Feliks Roderyk Łabuński, Polish composer, dies at 86
- Apr 29 Julia Perry, American classical composer (Soul Symphony; Cask of Amontillado; Homunuclus C.F.), dies at 55
- May 9 Eddie Jefferson, American jazz vocalese singer and lyricist ("Moody's Mood for Love"), shot to death by a disgruntled former employee at 60
- May 9 Lan Adomian, Russian-born American composer, dies at 73
- May 11 Lester Flatt, American bluegrass guitarist (Flatt & Scruggs - "Foggy Mountain Breakdown"; "Ballad of Jed Clampett"), dies at 64
- May 21 (Richard Allen) "Blue" Mitchell, American jazz trumpeter (Horace Silver Quintet; Riverside; Blue Note), dies of cancer at 49
- May 28 William Edmonson, American bass harmony and gospel vocalist (Southernaires), radio, stage and screen actor (Thirty Years Later), dies at 76
Jack Haley (1898-1979)
Jun 6 American vaudevillle and screen actor, singer, and dancer (The Wizard of Oz -"Tin Man"; Higher and Higher), dies of a heart attack at 81
- Jun 8 Louis Palange, American arranger, classical music and film score composer (Hollywood Panorama; King Dinosaur), and conductor, dies at 61
- Jun 16 (William Jennings Bryan) "Ben" Weber, American composer (Thorne Music Award 1965), dies at 62
- Jun 21 Angus Maclise, American percussionist, mystic, shaman, and composer (Velvet Underground), dies of hypoglycemia and pulmonary tuberculosis at 41
- Jun 22 (Walter) "Pee Wee" Hunt, American jazz trombonist (Casa Loma Orchestra, 1929-43; "Twelfth Street Rag", "Oh!"), and bandleader, dies at 72
- Jun 28 Paul Dessau, German composer and conductor (Adventures of Casanova; Never Trust a Woman), dies at 84
- Jun 29 Lowell George, American rock vocalist and guitarist (Mothers of Invention; Little Feat), dies at 34
- Jul 3 Louis Durey, French composer, dies at 91
- Jul 6 Van McCoy, American musician and songwriter (The Hustle), dies of a heart attack at 39
- Jul 8 Charles Kynard, American soul, jazz, and funk Hammond B-3 organ player (Reelin With The Feelin'), dies at 46
- Jul 10 Arthur Fiedler, American orchestra leader (Boston Pops), dies at 84
- Jul 12 Kalervo Tuukkanen, Finnish composer, dies at 69
- Jul 12 Minnie Ripperton [Andrea Davis], American pop, R&B, and disco singer-songwriter ("Lovin' You"), dies of breast cancer at 31
- Jul 16 Alfred Deller, English countertenor (b. 1912)
- Jul 28 Charles Shadwell, British conductor (BBC Variety Orchestra, 1936-46), and bandleader dies at 81
- Aug 3 Renato Fasano, Italian composer, dies at 76
- Aug 19 Dorsey Burnette, American rockabilly singer (The Rock and Roll Trio), and songwriter ("It's Late"), dies of a heart attack at 46
- Aug 22 John Lee Granderson, American Chicago-style blues guitarist, dies at 71
- Aug 25 Ray Eberle, American big band vocalist (Glenn Miller; Gene Krupa), and bandleader, dies of a heart attack at 60 [1]
- Aug 25 Stan Kenton, American musician, jazz pianist, arranger and bandleader (Artistry In Rhythm), dies at 67
- Aug 27 Bolesław Szabelski, Polish organist and composer, dies at 82
- Sep 6 Ronald Binge, British composer (Elizabethan Serenade, Sailing By), dies at 69
- Sep 9 Norman "Norrie" Paramor, British composer, arranger, pianist, bandleader, and record producer (Cliff Richard: The Shadows; Helen Shapiro), dies at 65
- Sep 9 Solon Michaelides, Cypriot composer, teacher, and musicologist, dies at 73
- Sep 9 Wilbur Ware, American jazz double bassist (Riverside Records; Thelonious Monk; Sonny Rollins), included in photographer Art Kane's photo "A Great Day In Harlem", dies of emphysema at 56
- Sep 10 Stanyslav Lyudkevych, Ukranian composer, and musicologist, dies at 100
- Sep 14 Raymond Loucheur, French composer, dies at 80
- Sep 15 Tommy Leonetti [Tomaso Lionetti], American singer ("Free"), songwriter ("My City of Sydney"), and actor (Gomer Pyle, USMC), dies of cancer at 50
- Sep 17 Miloslav Kabeláč, Czech composer, dies at 71
- Sep 25 Tapio Rautavaara, Finnish athlete, actor, and singer (Me tulemme taas, Rion yö), dies of a cerebral hemorrhage at 64
- Sep 26 Seymour Shifrin, American composer (Satires of Circumstance), dies at 53
- Sep 27 Gracie Fields, English music hall/vaudeville performer and actress (Queen of Hearts), dies at 81
- Sep 27 Jimmy McCulloch, Scottish songwriter and guitarist (Wings), dies at 26
- Sep 29 Ivan Wyschnegradsky, Russian microtonal composer, dies at 86
- Oct 1 Roy Harris, American composer (When Johnny Comes Marching Home: An American Overture), dies at 81
- Oct 4 Christina Spierenburg, Dutch singer, dies at 56
- Oct 10 Paul Paray, French organist, conductor (Detroit Symphony, 1951-62), and composer, dies at 93
- Oct 13 Rebecca Clarke, British-American violist and classical composer (Morpheus), dies at 93
- Oct 17 Karel Reiner, Czech pianist, composer, and Theresienstadt concentration camp survivor, dies at 69
- Oct 22 Nadia Boulanger, French composer and conductor (1st woman to conduct Boston Symphony), dies at 92
- Oct 29 Ramon "Tiki" Fulwood, American funk drummer (Parliament-Funkadelic; Miles Davis), dies of stomach cancer at 35
- Nov 11 Dimitri Tiomkin, Russian-American film score composer and conductor (Academy Award 1954-High & Mighty), dies at 85
- Nov 17 John Glascock, British bass guitarist and singer (Carmen, 1972-75; Jethro Tull, 1976-79 - "Too Old To Rock 'n' Roll, Too Young To Die"), dies of congenital heart valve defect at 28
- Nov 23 Judee Sill, American singer-songwriter ("Crayon Angels"; "Jesus Was A Cross Maker"), dies of a drug overdose at 35
- Dec 2 Vasily Pavlovich Solov'yov-Sedoy, Russian composer, dies at 72
- Dec 29 Branimir Sakač, Croatian composer (Matrix Symphony), dies at 61
Richard Rodgers (1902-1979)
Dec 30 American composer, mostly for theater (Rodgers & Hart - "Pal Joey"; "Babes In Arms"; Rodgers & Hammerstein - "Oklahoma!"; "South Pacific"; "The King And I"; "The Sound Of Music") and 1st EGOT (Emmy; Grammy; Oscar; and Tony awards winner), dies at 77
Country Singers
Jazz Musicians
Opera Singers
Pop Stars
Rappers
Rockers