- Dec 5 Yehoshua Lakner, Israeli pianist, composer (Circles and Signals; Cornerstones), and teacher, dies at 79
- Dec 6 Hans Hotter, German operatic bass-baritone, dies at 94
- Dec 8 Rubén González, Cuban pianist (Buena Vista Social Club) (b. 1919)
- Dec 16 Gary Stewart, American country singer (She's Actin' Single), commits suicide by shooting himself in the neck at 59
- Dec 22 Dave Dudley, American country singer (Six Days on the Road), dies at 75
- Dec 22 Rose Hill, British actress and operatic soprano ('Allo 'Allo!, Nicholas Nickleby, Shot in the Dark), dies at 89
- Dec 26 Ivan Petrov [Krauze], Russian-Soviet operatic bass (Bolshoi Theatre, 1942-70), and educator, dies at 83
- Dec 30 Anita Mui, Hong Kong Cantopop singer and actress, "Madonna of the East", dies of cancer at 40
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