- Dec 1 Dorothy James, American composer, dies on her 81st birthday
- Dec 2 David Blue [Cohen], American folk musician, dies of a heart attack while jogging in Greenwich Village at 41
- Dec 2 Isador Goodman, South African-Australian composer, dies at 73
- Dec 8 Marty Robbins, American country singer (Devil Woman; I Walk Alone), dies of complications following cardiac surgery at 57
- Dec 9 Paul Godwin, Polish-Dutch violinist, dies at 80
- Dec 9 Roger Danneels, Flemish accordionist, Hammond organ player, and bandleader, dies at 55
- Dec 10 Roy Webb, American film score composer (films of Val Lewton), dies at 94
- Dec 17 Leonid Kogan, Soviet Russian violinist (Lenin Prize, 1952), dies of a heart attack at 58
- Dec 17 Philipp Jarnach, French pianist, composer, and music educator (Hamburg Music Academy, 1949-70), dies at 90
- Dec 18 Tibor de Machula, Hungarian-Dutch cellist, dies at 70
- Dec 19 Jean-Jacques Grunenwald, French organist and composer, dies at 71
- Dec 19 Lawrance Collingwood, English composer, dies at 95
- Dec 20 Artur Rubinstein, Polish-American concert pianist, dies in Geneva at 95
- Dec 20 Milan Ristić, Serbian composer, dies at 76
- Dec 23 Norman Dinerstein, American composer, dies of a heart attack at 45
- Dec 28 Frederick Douglass Hall, American composer, dies at 84
Country Singers
Jazz Singers
Opera Singers
Pop Singers
Rappers
Rock Singers