- Aug 1 Tommy Makem, Irish folk singer, dies of lung cancer at 74
- Aug 4 Lee Hazlewood, American country singer and songwriter ("Summer Wine"; "These Boots Are Made For Walkin'"), dies of renal cancer at 78
- Aug 6 Teizo Matsumura, Japanese composer ("Chinmoku / Silence"; "Hymn to Aurora") and haiku poet, dies at 78
- Aug 6 Zsolt Daczi, Hungarian rock guitarist (Bikini; Omen; Carpathia Project Tirana Rockers; solo), dies at 38
- Aug 10 Tony Wilson, British music personality, record label owner and radio broadcaster, dies of a heart attack at 57
- Aug 13 Tudor Jarda, Romanian composer, dies at 85
- Aug 14 Tikhon Nikolayevich Khrennikov, Soviet composer and leader of the Union of Soviet Composer, dies at 94
- Aug 15 Dave Hassinger, American recording engineer and record producer, dies at 80
- Aug 15 Richard Bradshaw, British opera conductor (Canadian Opera Company, 1989-2007), dies of a heart attack at 63
- Aug 16 Max Roach, American percussionist, drummer, and composer (b. 1924)
- Aug 27 Douglas "Doug" Riley [Dr Music], Canadian musician and musical director (Famous People Players), dies of a heart attack at 62
- Aug 28 Miyoshi Umeki, Japanese-American Academy Award-winning stage and screen singer and actress (Sayonara; Flower Drum Song; Courtship of Eddie's Father - "Mrs. Livingston"), dies of cancer at 78
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